Everyone's attention turned to the ice-user. The heterochromic boy did not speak often, so when he did, people listened., "Midoriya was obviously the MVP of the exercise." Shōto declared, his face showing an intensity that was somewhat off-putting. "He successfully knocked out one of the Heroes and held off the other until time expired. He also prepared a well-thought-out ambush and could obviously tell when the Heroes were approaching. He also leveraged his ability to teleport to save the match. Ashido performed well in the fight, and we could tell she was involved in the planning session in some capacity. Despite that, she let her guard down against Yaoyorozu. Yaoyorozu herself performed well but started to panic once she lost control of the situation, and Kaminari never had control. He was reacting the entire fight, and only seemed to have the one plan which relied on Midoriya dropping his guard."
"A well thought out analysis, young man. Midoriya-shonen did indeed perform beyond admirably. His plan was well thought out and even hurting and aching, he did not stop until the mission was done. Remember that, all of you! Remember what it means to Go Beyond! Remember what it means to push yourself when your every muscle is begging for rest and your entire body is trembling in pain! This may have been a victory, but it was a hard fought one! And your careers will be chock full of those!"
Despite all the praise the others had been giving her, Todoroki's words again had Momo once again feel her confidence take a sharp pounding. Her panic had been blaringly obvious, and it had caused her loss. She hung her head sadly.
"However, your answer was not all I was looking for." Most of the rest of the class looked pretty surprised, none more than Todoroki himself, "Any others?" His grin widened as his gaze landed on his protégé, "Yes, Midoriya-shonen?"
"I disagree with Todoroki-san. I actually think Yaoyorozu-san was the MVP." Izuku's voice rang out, getting Momo to practically do a spit-take as she turned to stare at him, a dumbfounded look on her face.
"Oho? Explain." All Might while inside he grinned, having part of what he wanted now.
"From the moment the fight started, Yaoyorozu-san's abilities were invaluable. She created their means of scouting the area and located us quickly. She also would have been able to accurately determine how many enemies the heroes would be facing using her equipment. She then provided her teammate with a last resort Support Item compatible with his Quirk, and while her partner was fighting me, she managed to overwhelm my own partner." Izuku stated.
As he spoke, Momo held her hands in front of her chest, feeling… odd… to say the least at hearing her former opponent praise her like this. Warm, almost.
"That gift to her partner was enough to almost incapacitate me because I dropped my guard, and then the victory would have been theirs. Yes, my ability to teleport back was part of our plan, but it almost didn't matter because of how much time was left when Mina was taken out. If I was unable to defeat Kaminari before she beat Mina, I could have run away but then would have been facing a two-on-one once he caught up. Even so, if she had been just a hair faster getting off Mina, she could have gotten to the bomb before I was able to get her off of it. Fact of the matter is… she was a photo-finish away from winning."
Momo was blushing heavily as she stared at Izuku, her heart now for certain thudding in her chest.
All Might laughed loudly, making her start and turn back to him, "Excellent, Midoriya-shonen! Truly wonderful!" His gaze snapped to Momo, who felt her spine straighten in instant reflex, "But there's more! There will come a time in every hero's life where they face insurmountable odds! No matter how our profession gets glorified or the tabloids decry our words as cheesy lip service… nothing could be further from the truth!"
His gaze swept the class, an intense look on his face that went strangely with his massive smile. "All of us, all of you! At one point or another, you will be called upon to lay down on the wire to let others crawl over you! As Aizawa-sensei told you… the world isn't fair! Natural disasters can strike at any moment, and Villains who are truly evil to degrees you wouldn't believe exist! There will be times when you come up against The Wall, and it will seem infinitely high! It happens to us all in our line of work! Yes, even myself! I'm sure all of you saw me bleeding during my debut! What is important, is that you never stop trying to overcome that wall!" There was a smattering of murmurs coming from the students.
He clenched a fist in front of him, beaming at Momo, before pointing a finger at her, "And in times of extreme duresslike those, I want all of you to remember this wonderful young lady!" As Momo turned a new shade of red heretofore unknown to man he went on, "This may have only been a simulation, but when you're out facing your own Wall it'll seem real enough to you, just as it did for them! Even when she faced adversity, she never gave up! Even as she was pulled further away from her goal, she never laid down and accepted defeat! Even as she came face to face with an opponent she simply could not overcome, she fought until the bitter end! Take this loss and wear it like a badge of honor, Yaoyorozu-Shōjo. Adapt. Learn from your mistakes and overcome them! That is the meaning of Plus Ultra!"
Momo now had her hands over her mouth and was smiling happily behind them. Small tears pooled in her eyes, and she nodded quickly and wiped them away, "Yes sir! Thank you, All Might!"
"Think nothing of it! You deserve it." He went back to standing with his fists on his hips, "But that is not to take away from what was said about Midoriya-shonen. The both of you clearly shared equal value in your respective teams, and so the both of you shall share the MVP for this round. You both get full marks."
The class cheered at his announcement, and Momo beamed happily, before turning to the one who had spoken on her behalf, "T-thank you, Izuku-san." She told him, 'D-did I just stutter?' Was there something wrong with her? Why was she still feeling so happy, especially when she considered his words, beyond even the feeling All Might's words had brought her? In her confusion, Momo didn't even realize she switched to using his first name.
But Izuku did, and he blushed more than a bit as he replied in kind "You deserved it, M-Momo-san."
"Yeah, you were totally awesome!" Mina almost leapt on Momo's back, getting a short gasp from the taller girl. "I totally want a rematch! I'll win next time!"
Momo smiled happily and almost started… bouncing without moving, her face suddenly seeming as cute as a cherub. "Of course! We should all keep improving ourselves! Which means I'll have to train hard, so I don't fall behind!" With that the beaming grin on her face practically lit the room. The rest of the class just… took it in. They hadn't been expecting her to be so bubbly, and it was adorable.
"Oh!" Mina suddenly turned to Momo again, "Right, I forgot about this! Yaomomo, I didn't say anything during the match because I didn't want to break character, but you made a bad mistake when you were fighting me!"
Momo's eyes widened, "I… I did? What did I do?"
"Your plastic-covered gear worked, but only because I wasn't going all out." Mina told her, drawing shocked gasps from much of the class, "You shouldn't assume that something made by a Quirk will behave the same way it would behave if made in like a lab or something. My acid – if I really, really push myself – can actually behave more like cartoon acid than anything that exists naturally. As in, it would easily melt through anything you tried to use to block it. But obviously I didn't want to really risk hurting anyone during training, and also didn't feel like hurting myself either. Even myskin can't handle my strongest stuff for too long, and I could probably take a shower in the stuff you'd need full protective gear just to be near." She let out a giggle at the end.
"Oh my, I had no idea." Momo looked shocked, which was mirrored by most of the class. "T-thank you for telling me, Mina-san. I shall endeavor to not make any mistakes like that again!" She bowed to the pink girl.
Mina giggle, "Hey, we're friends! No need to bow! I'm just trying to look out for my buddy, right?" Momo gave her a positively radiant smile in response.
"An excellent show of restraint, young Ashido, and an excellent warning for the class! You just got yourself some extra points!" All Might grinned at her.
Mina punched the sky with a beaming grin, "Yahooo! Thanks All Might!"
"Let's get to the next match!" The time limit he was under was beginning to frustrate All Might, by this point, even more than usual. Perhaps he would need to 'introduce' Toshinori as an alternate teacher for the classes. If he didn't, there was just no way he was going to be able to both pull this off as well as actually be a hero if classes always ran as long as this one. "Hero Team D vs Villain Team J!"
"Finally!" Katsuki let out a blood-thirsty grin as he clenched his fingers, small little crackles exploding off of him.
"Eep! I have to fight Explody Boy?" Ochaco squeaked momentarily. She shook herself and clapped her own cheeks, taking care not to let all her fingers touch, "We got this, right Iida-kun?"
"You do! Good luck, Uraraka-san!" Izuku tried to smile at her, getting one in return. Momo, Mina, and the rest of their group took turns wishing them well in the bout.
"You'll do great, Ochaco-chan! Kero." Tsu tried to help Ochaco stay hyped up.
Inasa sidled up to Iida and clapped him on the shoulder, leaning in and – for once – actually staying a bit quiet, "My man Izuku told me not to get involved… but I'm sure he can't complain if you give Bakugo a good kicking from the both of us."
"I don't approve of settling things here for him…" Iida also responded quietly, "But at the same time… I want to win!"
"My man!" Inasa grinned as they walked away, "So, what do you think, Izuku?"
"I must admit I'm quite curious as well. You analyzed the first fight perfectly." Momo smiled at her hopefully-new-friend, and the rest of them turned to him in curiosity.
"I… I'm not sure." Izuku admitted, before whipping his notebook out.
"Where was he keeping that?" Someone whisper-screamed, "I swear it just appeared in his hand!"
Izuku wasn't really paying attention anymore. He was rapidly going through and mumbling to himself as he read through the previous entries. "Aoyama-san seems like he would be a poor match for Kacchan in terms of personality… their egos are definitely going to clash… Iida-kun and Uraraka-san… way more utility… perhaps not enough combat power… Kacchan definitely the heaviest hitter, followed by Iida-kun…"
The rest of the class was again bemused as their apparent class cinnamon roll went on a tear with his mumbling. Some of them started to snigger as several of the other classmates turned to stare at the verdette incredulously as he hurriedly wrote in his notebook.
"Deku-kun?" Ochaco looked terribly confused.
"That's a little creepy, Midoriya-chan." Tsu didn't hold back at all.
"Is this a habit of his, Yoarashi-san?" Momo looked puzzled but did have a little smile on her face at seeing someone else analyze something so well.
"Yeah, been trying to break him out of it buuuut…" Inasa chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.
Mina laughed before she jumped onto his back and drove him from his motor mouthing, "While this is fun and all listening to you mumble along, how about you share with the rest of us!"
"Ah!" He squeaked in response, 'To-Too close!' his face reddened quickly, "R-right. Sorry again!" he shook his head as the rest told him not to worry, "I… I'm not sure exactly how things are going to go. By rights, Kacchan is the hardest hitter on the field, and one of the strongest in the class. However, neither him nor Aoyama-san are trackers and I imagine they'll have a hard time finding the bomb. Iida-kun is the fastest in the class – or at least the most consistently fast – and has the most stamina. Those bombs are light, and I could see him moving it around any time the heroes come close. Aoyama's Naval Laser is fairly limited, but powerful. However, we saw from the Quirk Apprehension Test that he's not exactly the strongest or most fit in the class, and he had pretty low stamina." He paused and stuck the middle phalange of his right index finger between his teeth for a moment, "Time is going to be the Hero Team's enemy here… and I think that may end up being true in more ways than one…"
Momo immediately realized what he was talking about, "Their personalities!" She exclaimed, "You think they're going to waste time arguing? That would be most unbefitting of heroes."
"And yet something that is an unfortunate reality." All Might interrupted them with an approving grin. He was extremely happy to see them taking things so seriously, especially the MVP combo. "Personalities and egos can clash in the field as it would in any other environment and can have disastrous results if not overcome. That is one of the reasons these trials you shall face will often be randomized. You need to get used to putting aside your differences for the mission."
"Thank you, All Might…" Izuku nodded to his mentor, before he winced. "I don't know if Aoyama-san is actually as arrogant as he acts, but I know Kacchan is the real deal in that department. I know Kacchan and I know he wants nothing more than to be the top Hero. To surpass All Might. But because everybody did nothing but sing his praises his entire life…"
Mina groaned from her place still on his back. It immediately drew his attention to the fact she was still practically cuddling him, and he went rosy-red again as he felt two somethings pressing into his back, "Oh… he's one of those. They're going to be butting heads the entire time, aren't they?"
"Y-yeah." Izuku agreed, 'She's so touchy-feely!' He screamed in his own head for a moment, before concentrating on the upcoming match to force his face to not spontaneously combust. "However, his desire to win and be the best will definitely override it. Will it happen in time is the question?"
-]|[-
It had been a very…frustrating year for Katsuki Bakugo. Everything had seemed to go wrong ever since the Slime Incident. His place in U.A. had been assured from the moment he'd decided that he would follow All Might into his alma mater, and he had deemed himself the only one worthy from their ratty middle school.
He had it all. The Quirk, the drive, the intelligence and work ethic… he knew he was the only one who could possibly make it through the grueling examinations. And yet a pebble had decided to follow him. Quirkless, worthless Deku. No matter how many times he'd commanded it, Deku just wouldn't give the fuck up. The damn bastard had a death wish. In a society like theirs, to decide he would become a Hero without a fucking Quirk was suicide.
And that was how it had started. Initially, he had only wanted to keep his friend safe from his own stupidity. He was Hero enough for the both of them. There was no reason for Izuku to throw his life away. But that bastard wouldn't give up, and eventually had started looking down on him. Offering him help, rather than the other way around! The sheer gall was enough to make his teeth grind.
And so, things between them had turned increasingly nasty, and yet Deku never fucking left him alone. And then the Slime Villain had shown up, and as if by magic so had Deku's Quirk. Quirkless, fucking USELESS Deku grew a fucking Quirk almost a decade past the normal cutoff point, despite all fucking signs pointing to that having been impossible! And the fucking bastard had used it to save him from that disgusting little shit!
Rage, humiliation, betrayal… practically every negative emotion in existence had engulfed him that day and continued through the weekend. His parents had been even more annoying as he stewed until his confrontation with that Quirkless fuck. But it wasn't to be. It hadn't been a fluke, and fucking Deku had scored first blood in their skirmish near the lockers.
That had been the last time he'd antagonized Deku up until they met again for the Entrance Exam. No, he forced himself to calm and channeled his rage into much more constructive prospects… namely increasing his own strength and power. He'd trained himself to the fucking bone to regain his place at the top. And once the Exams hit, he'd more than doubled that bastard's combat score, and he'd still fucking lost. Fucking hero points! What the fuck were those? You saved people by beating the fucking Villains! If they couldn't even save themselves they had no place in U.A.! And yet because of them, fucking Deku had again beaten him.
And the hits just kept on coming. Fine, so fucking Deku cheated to beat him with his fucking Hero points. He was still stronger and a better fighter! And then the Quirk Apprehension Test had come, and everything fell apart again! Deku could fucking teleport, fucking Icy-Hot was a badass, that damn Windbag didn't even acknowledge his existence beyond a few glares and competed with fucking Deku, and then fucking Ponytail blew all of them out. Katsuki hadn't gotten first. He hadn't even gotten second. No, he'd fallen all the way to fucking FIFTH, and fucking Deku had beaten him again!
He was pulled from his thoughts when the fucking extra tagging along with him spoke, "So, mon ami, how shall we be beating them today? What is the plan?"
"Eh? Plan?" Katsuki snarled at him, "The fuck you talking about, French Fry? I'm going to fucking kill them and you're going to sit your pasty ass down and wait for me to win."
"Non, non, non." The damn ballerina had the gall to wag his finger in his face, "I must have my own chance to Sparkle." With that, he fucking posed, something thatmade Katsuki's twitching even worse. "So, you may wait while I go and win!"
"Ehh? What the fuck did you say to me?" Katsuki got right in his face, "You better stay the fuck out of my way if you don't want to fucking die too!"
Aoyama adjusted his shades, "What a vulgar beast! Non, you stay out of my way!"
"The hero team may enter!" All Might's voice rang out.
"Ehh?" Katsuki startled, 'Shitfuck, this asshole distracted me!' He thought to himself, before whipping around and practically flying into the building.
Their Battle Site was a decommissioned metal foundry. Massive crucibles were suspended in the air and there were walkways and gangways everywhere. Rows upon rows of massive inert furnaces and rolling mills and presses lined the massive chamber.
Katsuki scowled angrily. "Shit, these bastards have plenty of places to hide the bomb!"
"Oui, such as inside the giant cups in the air." French Fry fucking pranced past him and started looking around, "Shall we look inside of them?"
"I thought I fucking told you to stay out of it!" Katsuki snarled. Did every one of these fucking extras think they could speak to him like that? "And that's too fucking easy! There's no way they're dumb enough to hide it in places that have such shitty defenses. I can get inside all of them easily!"
"Exploding the bomb won't do us any favors." Aoyama shot back haughtily. Back at the main base, the rest of the class watched in growing derision and exasperation as the two began snipping at one another.
…
Even before the two heroes had begun arguing, the Villains been planning out their strategy. "Even if it's for training, I can't say I enjoy playing the Villain." Iida told Ochaco as they stared at the bomb.
Ochaco smiled a bit, "Don't be like that. You saw the other teams right? This is just a game. A serious game, but still just a game. We just have to pretend to be evil!" She tried to pump him up.
"Hmm, I suppose you're right." He took his helmet off to breathe for a moment. He probably should make some adjustments to it. He was getting hot inside it much faster than he'd expected, and it wasn't exactly sweltering today, "Yes, that's perfect for this training, even if I dislike it. Very well! Then we must also devote ourselves to being Villains! We must dye ourselves with the color of evil before becoming Heroes!" He put his helmet back on, and took on a growly voice, "We are… EXTREMELY EVIL!"
"Pffffff…" spittle flew in a spray from her lips as she tried to keep her composure, "Too-too much!" She started to laugh and laughed even harder at his crestfallen look.
"Was it that bad?" Iida looked a little bashful, if such a thing was even possible in full armor.
"No, no, you just caught me totally off guard. But I was thinking that we'd do an actual evil plan instead of just acting!" Ochaco denied, not wanting him to lose his energy. "We had a couple of examples from the others, but none of them were actually evil in deed! So, I got to thinking while we were watching, and even more so when I found out who we were facing!"
She paused, making sure she had his attention and put on a serious look, "We're at a serious disadvantage here. They have us beat at range because of Laser Boy; well… kind of… I may be able to do some things with my Quirk, but we're not looking to seriously injure them so I'm a bit hesitant. Anyway! They have us beat in range, but I'm pretty sure they have us beat close up too because of Explody Boy."
Iida didn't like it, but he conceded the point, "You're right." He forced out, "I may have been only one space behind him in our tests, but in terms of close combat I'd say his explosions give him the advantage in an enclosed area like this. I doubt I'd be able to get out of third gear in here. Too many sharp turns."
"Right! And while I could make those giant cups weightless and throw them, Explody Boy would probably just blow them up. We have to fight smart if we want to win!" She grew a small, devious little smile, "So why don't we try this…" As she spoke, Iida's eyes began to bug out.
…
"Fucking stop wasting my damn time, ya fake frog!" Katsuki turned around, so he missed his unwanted partner's eyes widening, only to eat a heavy metal greave right to the chest. Spittle flew from his mouth as he gasped, before his back smashed into Aoyama's armor and knocked the both of them to the ground, "You fucking tin can!" He rasped, his eyes bloodshot and furious as he held his arm out.
A massive explosion chased after Iida, who ran behind one of the furnaces and vanished back into the darkness. The explosion cracked the massive contraption and sent shards of it raining onto the floor. But as Aoyama cried out and rubbed his aching ears, it became clear that Iida was nowhere in sight. Katsuki's arms crackled with tiny explosions and he hauled himself back to his feet and exploded away, knocking Aoyama back even further.
The other blonde groaned as he got to his feet, trying to do something to get his ears to stop ringing. He then started to look angry when he realized part of his cape had gotten burned from Katsuki's mini explosions. Glaring into the darkness, Aoyama got to his feet and put his arms behind his head. They needed more light, which his Quirk really was perfect for. And if he were honest with himself, if he happened to hit his partner he wouldn't feel too bad about it. Aoyama couldn't see anything clearly, so he followed the explosive flashes deeper into the Villain's base.
His formerly-shiny armor covered in some dark substance that they had found in the foundry, Iida watched from the shadows. When Aoyama started to fire into the darkness, he smiled, knowing their victory was already secured.
"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE FIRING THAT FUCKING THING!" Katsuki roared into the darkness minutes later as he was forced to dodge one of his partner's haphazard beams.
"Hmph! I'm trying to light the way, so we may accomplish our objective!" Came from a spot to his right. "And your explosions aren't exactly easy on the ears! We're supposed to be partners, non?" Aoyama's frustrated voice shot back.
'Do… do I even really need to do anything else?' Their now hidden opponent thought to himself with a sweatdrop. They seemed quite happy being at each other's throats instead of doing their jobs. This argument had been going on for the past five minutes as Iida continued his guerilla tactics, leading the two farther into the foundry… and further from Uraraka and the bomb.
Iida had used the shadows to his advantage, up until Bakugo started using his Quirk at extremely low levels just for light. Once that happened, he had switched targets, and Aoyama now looked bruised and beyond frustrated at this point. He had started firing his laser indiscriminately, just trying to hit his opponent in an increasingly desperate fashion.
But it was also tiring Iida out. This was more like running continuous suicides – sprinting full bore up a steep hill – than a marathon. He was constantly popping in and out, stopping short, and having to dodge retaliation. He was really hoping that Ochaco would join him soon, otherwise he might actually get captured or injured despite his enemies' horrible teamwork.
He saw Katsuki standing in an open area and dashed forward but immediately realized he made a mistake when Katsuki whirled around, "Have you been having fun, you fucking tin can?" A massive explosion rang out, directly between them at Iida's feet, hitting before Iida could dodge. Iida was flung back and crashed into a crucible, cracking it and then slumping down. His armor had protected him from the blast, but the impact was jarring nonetheless.
Katsuki's arms both crackled as he charged forward, "Why don't you tell me where that bomb is, and I'll grant you a quick death!"
Iida let out a pained chuckle, "You're too late, Hero scum! We've already won!"
"Oh, is that so?" Katsuki's eyes were both twitching, "Then I suppose I'll have to fucking beat it out of you, bastard!"
But when he went to do just that, Bakugo was forced to dodge to the left as another beam shot past him and smashed into Iida's chest. The tall boy was shoved further into the crucible with a pained groan.
"What the fuck are you doing, you fucking fake frog? Were you trying to hit me?" The agitated exploding dandelion whirled around and roared at the flamboyant blonde.
Aoyama rubbed his bruised cheek, "Non, but I believe I owed him one too."
"I don't give a fuck! I thought I told you-" His eyes bugged out and he aimed his palm forward.
Realizing something was wrong Aoyama instantly turned to the right and jumped, firing his laser and sailing away. A second later the massive crucible plowed into the dirt where he had just been standing to shatter into an explosion of shards. Katsuki created an explosion to destroy the ones heading for him, but the rest peppered the area.
"You boys haven't forgotten about me, have you?" Ochaco had a big, fake pout on her lips as she casually hefted another massive crucible over her head. Anyone watching without knowledge of her Quirk would have been excused for having small heart attack at the sight. "You two played right into our hands. Were you even trying to win?"
"What the fuck did you say to me, Round Face?" Katsuki roared, eyes twitching and a massive vein bulging on his forehead, sweat pouring out of every pore. There were small crackles and pops sparking all over his body as his Quirk kicked into overdrive.
"I said…" Ochaco plastered her best evil, nasty grin onto her face as she watched Iida get away, "You've already lost, Heroes!" With that she threw the crucible at Katsuki and increased the gravity on the object the moment before it left her hands. The result was a very fast pitch on a massive object that weighed even more than it looked like it did.
"Will you fucking extras STOP LOOKING DOWN ON ME!" The nearly apoplectic blonde roared as he adjusted his arm and reached with the other one, hooking his finger into a pin. He completely ignored the crackle of his earpiece coming on, as well as whatever All Might was saying over the line, and pulled the pin.
An utterly titanic explosion shot from his gauntlets. It obliterated the oncoming projectile and continued forward, blasting through the walkway Ochaco had been throwing from – the girl had thankfully made herself weightless and thrown herself away the second after she had thrown her crucible away – and right through the roof of the building. Shards of corrugated metal rained down on the dirt floors. Massive industrial chains clicked and clanged as the pressure waves rattled them. There was a snarling, grinding sound accompanied by the even louder screech of tortured metal as several walkways collapsed.
Slowly – so slowly the noise began to die out – the soot began to settle. The dust hung in the air and all of their coughs were the only noises in the building.
Then Ochaco's terrified voice rang out. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" She screeched, all semblance of thought on the lesson had been chased out by what could very well have been her certain death. She was pasty white and the grit that covered her and her costume made her look even paler. She was almost hyperventilating and her whole body was shaking. "THIS IS A CLASS!"
Katsuki coughed a few more times, "Where is that damn bomb, Round Face? Tell me now or I'll fucking kill you!"
"You will do no such thing." All Might's voice was deadly serious, "This match is over. The Villains win. Report back to the briefing area."
'Wh-what?' The words slowly penetrated inside his skull, "But there's still fucking time!" There was something bubbling inside his gut, and he very much did not enjoy it, 'Deku won… and I lost?'
"There may be, but I see no reason to continue this match now, Bakugo-shonen. Your opponents had a brilliant plan and put you in a no-win scenario, and that attack forced my hand. You lost. But you should not look at it that way. You can always come out ahead if you learn from the experience." All Might's voice sounded again, and this time from beside them. He had a hand on Ochaco's shoulder and a water bottle in hand.
Thankfully, the normally-bubbly girl was calming down after her brush with disaster. Her hands were still trembling, but her eyes didn't look so wild as she gratefully took the bottle from the Number One Hero. Katsuki did not look for his partner or Iida as he slowly dragged his feet out of the building. In fact, he didn't really even look up from the ground as his world took yet another beating.
-]|[-
"Before I give you all the floor, I have a few words to say as well." All Might's tone was subdued. He definitely did not sound as boisterous as he normally did, "That was a disgraceful performance by the Hero team. Perhaps one of the worst I've ever seen."
Katsuki and Aoyama flinched at that as the rest of the class looked on in silence, shocked by how the fight had gone, even Izuku.
"That bout was the perfect example for why we randomize these matches. You were right at each other's throats from before the match even started. Despite Aoyama-shonen's attempts, you did not even consider working with him and were determined to do everything on your own, Bakugo-shonen. Such a thing is unacceptable!" Katsuki still was not looking up, but Aoyama was nearly in tears as they were berated by their teacher, "Furthermore, the attack you used at the end was completely intolerable in every respect. Whether you're a Hero or a Villain, using massive, imprecise attacks like that indoors is a foolish idea. All you get is millions in property damage and a destroyed base that you risk having fall on your own head."
All Might's voice hardened. "And more importantly, you could have seriously maimed young Uraraka if you had hit her head on! Such an attack is FAR too dangerous to use on a comrade, especially in a training exercise!" Still, Katsuki did not look up, and All Might's brows furrowed. He tried not to sigh but made a mental note to take a firmer hand with Katsuki going forward before turning to the class at large. "I open the floor to you, young ones!"
"I'm so happy you're safe, Uraraka-san. I was really worried when I saw that explosion." Izuku began and surprised himself by putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Deku-kun…" Ochaco almost stammered when he did so, but instead returned a sunny smile to him, "Thank you." She replied earnestly.
"You and Iida were amazing!" Izuku gushed when he saw her smile, "Kacchan and Aoyama-san never even had a chance to win! What a brilliant plan! And your use of your Quirk was just awesome!"
She rubbed the back of her head in response, "Ehehehe…" Ochaco was still very shaken up from her brush with death but put on a happy face for the class. Before she could really reply though, another voice cut in.
"Kero, it was incredible. I never even thought of doing something like that. Which of you came up with the idea? Kero, kero." Tsuyu tapped her finger on her chin as she questioned her new friend.
"I still say it was cheating." Kirishima grumbled a bit, "Totally not manly."
The eye-rolls clearly showed that this was now a tired argument, "The two of them embraced their roles better than all of us." Tokoyami shot back, "Villains will do anything to win. You think they will care if you think they cheated?"
"It was you who came up with it, right Ochaco-chan?" Camie playfully knuckled the bubbly girl on the arm, "It was like, so lit! You guys totally knocked it out of the park!"
"So did Tenya over here!" Inasa laughed boisterously as he slung an arm around Iida's shoulder and nearly lifted him in the air despite his size and the added weight of his armor. "Those were some awesome kicks my man! You laid them out at the start like bowling pins! Wahahaha!"
"O-Of course!" Iida almost had sparkles around him at the praise, and a cheesy grin on his face, "We did what we had to, so we could win."
"What did they do?" The atmosphere changed as Katsuki spoke for the first time, "How did they cheat?" His eyes were bloodshot as he looked up, and he looked a cross between despondent and teeth-grinding-into-dust furious, "How the fuck did they beat me?!"
Almost everyone in the class turned angry glares at the uncaring boy. As All Might made another mental note to talk with the rest of the faculty about the boy, Momo stepped up with a hard look on her face. She stood imperiously as she glared daggers at him, "Iida-san and Uraraka-san did nothing wrong or anything against the rules. They won fair and square. Stop trying to find an excuse for your failure!"
It came as no surprise to most of the class to see the heiress act like this. When that massive explosion had lit up the screens she had been almost beside herself with worry. The only one more worried had been Izuku, who had barely held back from teleporting away to make sure she was alright.
Katsuki did not even have a chance to snarl back at the bitch because All Might cut in, "That's right. Young Uraraka and young Iida both embraced the spirit of the exercise. Observe!" All Might declared and drew their attention by pointing to the screens. Katsuki's eye started to twitch as they watched.
Katsuki turned around, so he missed his unwanted partner's eyes widening, only to eat a heavy metal greave right to the chest. Spittle flew from his mouth as he gasped, before his back smashed into Aoyama's armor and knocked the both of them to the ground. What he yelled once he got his bearings was lost as there was no sound, but his eyes were bloodshot and furious as he aimed a massive explosion after Iida. Once he did that, he leapt into the air and ignited his arms, continuous blasts helping him mimic flight as he chased the other boy. As Aoyama got to his feet, he was clearly grumbling and rubbing his ears.
He looked angry when he realized part of his cape had gotten burned from Katsuki's mini explosions. After he shot a laser into the dark, he followed his partner deeper into the base. The dust settled as a second camera superimposed itself onto the screen, aimed at a dark part of the ceiling. Suddenly, a tarp was thrown away, revealing Ochaco hidden with the bomb. It was tied to the ceiling with industrial chains, while Ochaco sat on a metal beam. She had a blinding grin on her face as she collected the bomb and raced out of the building. She landed right near where Katsuki and Aoyama had been knocked down, bomb over her head, and then raced right out the door they had come in from. She looked like she could barely contain her giggles, and indeed had burst out laughing with glee the moment she was safely away.
"What the fuck?!" Katsuki exploded, "How was that not cheating?" He roared indignantly.
"Ya shoulda looked up." Mina pulled her eyelid down and stuck her tongue out at him.
"I never stated that you had to keep the bomb in the testing area." All Might grinned widely, "In fact, I am ecstatic that at least one of you thought to try it. It is an important lesson for you to learn. Villains WILL cheat and do everything they can to win, as young Tokoyami said, and often they have a mobility advantage in that they set the pace of any combat." He chuckled, "That said, that window is now closed. Uraraka-Shōjo shall be getting extra points for thinking of it however."
"This is bullshit!" Katsuki spat and started to stomp away. All Might's hand on his shoulder stopped him cold.
"You have not been dismissed, young man. I do not wish to issue detention during my first class. Take your spot and observe, as you should have been for the other matches." Katsuki ground his teeth at the titan's words but did as he was told.
"Let's move on to the next match!" All Might was long-past starting to grow worried about how long these matches were taking, and whether or not he'd be able to last the full period. He moved things right along now, drawing more serious stares from his students, "We have Villain Team E vs Hero Team I!"
"Sweet! Looks like we're up!" Camie fist-bumped Sero.
At the same time, it was also really hard not to pay attention to the tiny purple boy and his muttering. He had a dopey look on his face – practically drooling as he stared in his opponent's direction – and was wriggling his fingers in a disturbing manner. Practically everyone took a step back, then Tsuyu quickly whipped him with her tongue, again getting his head to bobble.
"Like, totally gross, dude." Camie sneered at him, unconsciously crossing her arms in front of her chest. Maybe she should rethink her costume a bit?
"Ahem…" All Might had a sweatdrop as he stared at the boy, 'I hope this one has more interest in being a hero then he's showing. If I were to guess he's just here for the girls. Such a shame…' His thoughts were mirrored by the other students, though they went further in speculating how the hell he even made it into U.A. in the first place. "Proceed to your testing locations!"
"Izuku-san, what do you think of this match?" Momo asked, "From what I remember, Todoroki-san came in fourth place behind you, Yoarashi-san, and myself; and he did so while showcasing a powerful Quirk. I'm not certain Utsushimi-san and Sero-san have the firepower to match him."
"Todoroki is going to win." Inasa answered instead. He had a flat look on his face as he eyed the monitors, disappointed he wouldn't get to fight Endeavor's son himself. "I took my entrance exam with him and a couple other recommended students. I won, but just barely. His skill is amazing. Nothing against the other team, but…"
He stopped talking, starting to sweatdrop along with the rest of them as Izuku had once again started mumbling up a storm. Things descended into hilarity as they noticed Momo had created a notebook of her own and was taking notes intently as she followed along with his words, her hand moving so fast as to be a blur as she tried to keep up with him. Several of them burst into laughter at the sight.
"Is this going to be a regular thing?" Mina snickered as she stared at them, bemusedly scratching her chin. She then reached over and flicked Izuku on the ear playfully. "Snap out of it Midori!"
"Ack!" Izuku groaned, "Sorry!" He shook himself, "Anyway, you're right that if this turns into a straight fight, Todoroki-san totally has the edge." He turned to stare at the monitor, his voice serious, "Which doesn't really give Utsushimi-san and Sero-san much incentive to fight him straight on, does it?" He grinned a little, "I think they have the tools to make this a closer match than you're expecting."
-]|[-
"So, how we going to do this, big guy?" Mineta asked up at his partner, before again getting that perverted look on his face, "Can I fight Utsushimi-chan?"
"You should leave." Todoroki replied blandly. Unsaid was whether he meant the abandoned building or the Hero Course, "If you're in here, I can't guarantee your safety."
"What? No way! I made it here to the Hero Course too, you know?" Mineta sounded insulted. Left unsaid was that he wasn't actually in it for being a hero, but rather for the babes.
Todoroki touched the wall, "I'm sure they intend on fighting defensively… but that's useless against me." A sparkle of frost flowed from his fingers, and then the entire building started getting encased in a thick layer of ice.
"Wh-what the hell?!" Mineta yelled as he hopped to avoid getting his feet stuck, "That's too much, idiot!"
Todoroki's expression didn't change, "This match is already over. Just stay here." He deadpanned as he started walking up to where they had determined the bomb was.
"No way!" A light bulb went off in Mineta's head, and his perverted grin returned, 'Maybe I'll be able to see thempoking out in this cold!' he pulled some of his purple balls from his scalp and started scaling the wall behind Todoroki like some bargain-bin Spiderman.
Todoroki pushed the door open, smiling lightly when he saw both of his opponents frozen up to the knees in defensive positions in front of the bomb. "You can try to fight, I suppose, but you won't get very far with your feet frozen to the floor. Be grateful you're not barefoot."
He walked past them and touched the bomb, "Sorry… but the difference in strength was too great." He quirked an eyebrow when he realized he did not hear their victory announcement. Had he accidentally frozen the loudspeakers? He tried to remove his hand from the bomb, and his mind started firing a mile a minute when it became clear his hand was stuck.
His eyes bulged when the bomb basically evaporated away, revealing a set of stacked crates with a thick layer of double-sided tape glued to it like a giant flytrap. And he had gotten himself caught right away. He whirled around, thanking himself for using his left hand to touch it rather than his right, but ate a roundhouse kick right to the face because of it. "Gack!" he groaned as he felt blood start pouring from his broken nose, and the recoil had thrown him further into the crates and gotten him even more stuck onto them. Stars swam in his vision as the pain hit him.
"Sorry, hot stuff!" Camie landed, grinning like the cat that had eaten the canary, "But if you think I'ma let you win just cuz you're hot, then you really are lit!" She quickly got out of the way as more tape shot from Sero's elbows and wrapped him tight to the trap.
'You talked a big game, asshole, and look at you now!' Mineta inwardly cheered a bit from his hiding place on the ceiling behind the doorway, 'Now it's up to me! And I'm going to win! And if I get a squeeze in, all the better!' He somersaulted into the room from his place on the ceiling and dove for Camie – ostensibly because she was the better fighter and in better shape and he should be taking the stronger fighter out first, but really because he wanted to get closer to those oppai – trying to get his balls on her. "Take this! Grape Ru-"
Came cartwheeled out of the way – mentally thanking Sero for laying out a bed of one-sided plain tape on the floor before she went after Todoroki so that they would have footing on the ice – and closed the distance with the disgusting grape boy as soon as he landed. She did not feel even slightly bad about kicking him right in his creepy diaper, before slapping him clean across the face hard enough to leave a handprint. She huffed, having clearly recognized the motions the boy had been making with his fingers as he stared at her.
Sero clapped a hand to his face as he threw the Capture Tape at the boy like a bola, wrapping the grape up tightly, "Making the rest of us guys look bad, grape boy." He mumbled. He turned to grin at Camie, "Great plan!" He gave her a high five, which got her grinning and giving him a peace sign as well.
"You should have used that Capture Tape on me!" Their jubilation was interrupted as Todoroki's head stopped swimming and he got his bearings once more. His rage exploded as he took in the way they had made a fool out of him, and with his rage came his ice. A lot of ice.
"Oh shi-" their exclamations were cut off.
Todoroki panted for a moment, a slightly mad glint in his eyes, before it vanished and was replaced with confusion, and then it cleared into outright horror as he took in what he had done. His Quirk fired into overdrive as he started heating his surroundings up, desperately trying to thaw out the room.
"…" The intercom sparked once it was all over, and All Might did not sound pleased, "This exercise is over. Thaw them out and report back immediately." Thankfully he had been on that even before All Might said anything.
Camie let out a pained wheeze as she fell from the wall she had been pressed up against, clutching her ribs as the ice melted away. Todoroki looked a little shell-shocked and incredibly disappointed with himself. She fell to her knees, trying to breathe, but it hurt. It hurt really badly. Sero wasn't much better off. He was quivering like a leaf, his teeth chattering away. Todoroki was still stuck to the crate, so he couldn't even move to go help them, "I…"
"Need to learn to control your emotions!" Recovery Girl spat out as she was lowered by All Might. She may have already been on standby, but All Might had rushed to her anyway, grabbed her, and rushed all the way therein the time it took Todoroki to melt his ice. It was something that in other circumstances would have had the class in awe, because that ice melted unnaturally fast with his Quirk. Now though they were just worried for their friends, watching on the CCTV as the Healing Heroine hurried over to the young woman and extended her lips, pressing them to Camie's chest.
The girl let out a relieved gasp as her ribs healed and she was able to breathe once more. All that was left was a dull ache. "T-thanks, RG."
"Are you alright, Utsushimi-Shōjo?" All Might asked, kneeling down and patting her on the shoulder.
"Y-yeah," She let out a little cough, "I'm okay now." She wobbled a bit, "Whoa, why am I, like, so tired now?"
"It's the way my Quirk works." Recovery Girl patted her shoulder reassuringly, "Make sure you have a big meal and get lots of rest tonight, okay?" She got a nod, "Good girl. Off you go."
"Excellent!" All Might boomed, forcing his smile back on his face, "And yourself, young Sero?" He got some nods from the boy as he gathered Mineta – who had not escaped the ice either and needed his own kiss from Recovery Girl – up himself, "You did an excellent job. Run back to the main building now." He tore Mineta's bindings off, "I will be back momentarily." The two adults spent the next minute or two freeing Todoroki from the trap and fixing his broken nose. Once they were all gone – Todoroki leaving last, his head bowed in shame – he turned to the healer, "Thank you, Chiyo."
"You nearly gave me a heart attack when you showed up and grabbed me!" Chiyo groused at him, "But you were right to do so. Utsushimi-san had multiple broken ribs. It's a miracle that wasn't a lot more serious! They could have dislodged and pierced her organs!"
"Yes, that was dangerous." All Might groaned a bit, "It's a pity none of them have healing Quirks. We could always use more medics." He answered back softly, "I'll have to keep a closer eye on them. I should have declared young Todoroki out during the exercise when he was incapacitated."
"I'll want to see them all now, after their matches." Chiyo replied, "And I want copies of the tapes as well, just in case I missed something. Now go. You're wasting too much time as it is. I can get back on my own… though frankly, I should just stick close. Honestly. This place gets more dangerous by the year…" She continued to grumble as she slowly walked out of the building.
-]|[-
"Before I share my own thoughts, I will allow you all to give me your opinions first." All Might said quietly, chilling the room when they realized he was not smiling like normal.
With how Todoroki acted both before and during the match, Inasa would have excused himself for feeling a bit of spiteful pleasure at seeing him fall flat on his face. He always tried to not be that kind of person, but Todoroki and his Pro Hero father just had that way of pushing buttons he didn't even know he had. Even despite that, he couldn't bring himself to feel any sort of vindictive glee at seeing Todoroki with egg on his face. He only felt extreme relief that his classmates were safe and not critically injured. Plus, the fact that Todoroki himself looked a little shell-shocked and disgusted with himself was a point in his favor. He shook his head, "I'm just glad Sero and Camie are safe. That was disgusting."
Izuku nodded, "That was way too scary and I'm glad it turned out okay. As far as I'm concerned, Utsushimi-san and Sero-san won the bout. I noticed a winner was not called out."
"Indeed." Momo had a hard look on her face as she stood by Izuku, her hands clenching and unclenching as she dealt with unaccustomed anger. "Todoroki-san wrecked the building and badly injured not only his opponents, but also caught Mineta-san in the crossfire and even destroyed the bomb the Villains had suspended from the ceiling in a totally different room! In the real world, such behavior would never fly. A massive attack like that indoors is no good for either side. We JUST saw that in the match before theirs, so it was even more egregious!"
"I concur!" Iida chopped his hands wildly, "That was disgraceful behavior from both members of the Hero Team. Todoroki-san came in over-confident of his own victory and was badly rattled by the Villain Team's counterattack to the point that he forgot any semblance of self-control. Mineta-san not only ignored the easier takedown of Sero-san – who he could have gotten the drop on since he was closer to the door – but was clearly acting on… ahem… personalmotivations."
"He also announced his presence like an idiot, kero." Tsuyu chimed in.
"Hey!" Mineta chimed in, feeling attacked, "I thought Utsushimi-chan-"
"Never call me 'chan' again." Camie interrupted in a scary tone, using her Quirk to give herself glowing eyes of doom, with her maw open and fangs bared.
"Eeep!" Mineta flinched, "R-right. I thought Utsushimi…-san was the better fighter and prioritized taking her down with a surprise attack!"
"And if you had been quiet, you could have taken out Sero-san before Utsushimi-san even knew you were there." Ochaco of all people countered him. Not a single person in the room was buying what he was selling. He had clearly tunnel vision-ed on Camie.
"Excellent analysis, all of you." All Might nodded along, grinning widely once more, "And correct on all points. The Villain team will claim this victory, with young Utsushimi as the MVP!"
"Boom shakalaka!" Camie cheered, fist pumping in excitement. Or at least as much as her exhaustion allowed her to do so. Her next move was a tired yawn.
"Her plan was well thought out and executed nearly flawlessly. Her team's only mistake was disregarding the Capture Tape until they had beaten Mineta-shonen. They should have used it immediately on young Todoroki. Todoroki's final attack was exceedingly dangerous and could have turned out a lot worse. He froze not only his enemies but also his teammate and destroyed the bomb."
All Might sighed. "And though it may seem like beating a dead horse, I must reiterate; Massive attacks like that indoors are awful ideas – as young Yaoyorozu claimed – and are easy ways for either a Hero OR a Villain to end up with a destroyed stronghold! …And let me tell you, the property damage bills are not pretty. Instead, for this exercise, you shall lose a massive amount of points."
He let out another explosive sigh, "However, part of the blame lies with me. I should have declared Todoroki-shonen out of the exercise once he was fully wrapped to the crate. In the real world, that could have been an easy way to end up with a knife in the throat." The room stiffened, "Remember that while you're training for it, out in the field is a different world. Villains… real Villains often do not hesitate to kill or cripple. This is a rewarding profession in very many ways, but it is a dangerous one. Never forget that."
At this point he chose not to reiterate what had already been said about Mineta – since it would be flogging said dead horse – and instead decided to make his point very clear to the second problem child here. The one whose actions had nearly made him a murderer. "I will not do this often, but Todoroki-shonen shall owe me three pages on what he did wrong, as well as an apology to his classmates. And that's on top of whatever Aizawa-sensei decides to punish you with."
"Yes sir." Todoroki said dully, his head still bowed in shame.
This actually gave All might some hope that at least in his case, his words were getting through. He nodded, pasting a smile on his face as he turned back to the class. "With all that said… It's time for the final match! Team G as the Heroes vs Team H the Villains!"
"Wahahaha! Saved the best for last, eh?" Inasa beamed as he hooked an arm around Tokoyami's shoulder, "I look forward to facing ya, bud."
Tokoyami looked fierce as he met Inasa's challenge, "I confess I am looking forward to testing my mettle against you, number two."
"Ehh, more like number three." Izuku would never have dreamed of being able to tease anyone a year ago. As Inasa laughed, Izuku smiled gleefully at the thought that he really had friends. Sometimes it still felt like a dream.
"Ohoho, someone's looking for a rematch!" Inasa smirked at him, "I look forward to it, but for now, I have to pay attention to my own opponents! Let's go!"
As they left, Mina surprised the rest of the class by being the first to analyze the matchup, "I think both teams have some powerhouses!" She said cheerfully, "Inasa obviously has an extremely strong Quirk, but so does Tokoyami. I feel kind of bad for saying it, but I don't know that Kōda or Shōji could do much against either of the other two. Shōji is really, really strong but we haven't seen any ranged stuff from him. Kōda is strong too, but he also seems super shy and… I don't know… I kinda can't see him punching anyone."
"While I agree, I do think Kōda-san will be invaluable for recon." Momo countered, "From what little I know of his Quirk, he'll be able to locate the bomb quickly and easily."
"I agree!" Iida – still looking dinged up and dirty from his own excursion – interjected, chopping his hands down firmly, "Kōda-san will be able to make use of his animal friends to locate the bomb quite quickly! Therefore, I believe that trying to hide it is a wasted endeavor! I think that the Villain's best shot is a straight fight! They should place the bomb in a defended but open location and choose their own battlefield."
Ochaco rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "I kinda hate to say it because it feels too mean, but the Villain team should probably try to knock Kōda-kun out early. Hopefully Yoarashi-kun will be able to defend him."
"I feel bad for picking on Kōda-san too, but you're right that he doesn't seem the type that would hurt a fly." Kyōka twirled one of her headphone jacks, "If I were him, I would let Inasa-san be the big brash distraction after they find the bomb, and then go all ninja for the bomb."
"Well we'll see in a minute." Izuku grinned, his notebook out and ready to go, not noticing that Momo was holding a similar one from earlier when she had been copying his mutters. "They're about to start!"
-]|[-
"Whoaaa, you found the bomb already? It hasn't even been a minute!" Inasa cheered as he watched a couple little mice 'report' to his partner.
Kōda quickly jotted down another note on his pad, "The bomb is in the basement. There's only one entrance. They have it barricaded and are guarding the way."
"Yahoo! Are you ready for this, my man? Let's goooo!" he cheered. Kōda was sweating heavily as he nodded rapidly. When Inasa took off and flew quickly to the target, little sweatdrops almost sprinkled off him as he panicked momentarily, before racing to catch up.
Unfortunately for him, the other team had planned well. The area leading to the bomb was engulfed in a deep darkness. In fact, it was the optimal level of darkness for Tokoyami's Quirk – Dark Shadow – to be at the highest amount of power he could handle while still keeping near-perfect control. They were confident in being able to handle Inasa. Which meant Shōji – once they determined that Kōda's scouts were gone – went to lay a trap for the shy boy.
As soon as Kōda entered the building – nearly thirty seconds after his partner rushed in – Shōji dropped in behind him and put him in a chokehold, "My apologies, Kōda-san." Even as he said this, he had to add another two tentacles because Kōda really was physically strong. One of his tentacles grew a mouth so he could speak, "This is nothing personal, but we must defeat you." Kōda struggled some more, before another set of hands wrapped the Capture Tape around him.
"Kōji Kōda has been eliminated! Please exit the building!" Kōda trembled momentarily as All Might's voice rang in the building, before his head hung dejectedly.
Shōji put his hand on Kōda's shoulder speaking up more than he normally would to help his fellow silent giant. "Do not be dejected, Kōda-san. You will have other opportunities to show your strength! Stand proud, for your reconnaissance abilities are second to none. I think I'm one of the few in the class physically stronger than you. You did your part as well as you could. Your team just should have planned more." But he had no more time to waste, so he raced back into the darkness. Kōda let out a nearly silent sigh as he walked back out, but at least his head wasn't hung so low.
…
Elsewhere in the building the message, "Kōji Kōda has been eliminated! Please exit the building!" rang out.
"What!" Inasa gasped as he heard the statement. "But how?!" He had just rushed into the battle area and saw Tokoyami waiting patiently.
Tokoyami let out a dark chuckle, "So, I did have you read correctly, Hero." The bird-man spat, "Such a pity that you left your partner behind. I would have liked to have another one for Dark Shadow to play with." A dark shadow vaguely shaped like him started to rise.
The words hit Inasa a bit hard. He had inadvertently abandoned his partner, and it gave him a bit of a nasty feeling. 'Damn you would think after the previous matches I would have learned! Teamwork man! Ugh.'
Still, he ground his teeth together and pasted on a smile, "I will rescue him once I'm done here, Villain! You won't win! Bring it!" A whirlwind rose around him, but there was really nothing for him to pick up. They had done their homework well. The entire room was empty of anything for him to use and with Dark Shadow they had been able to barricade the basement entrance behind Tokoyami from the inside.
"If there's anything left of him to save." Tokoyami let out a dark laugh, angering Inasa, "Enough playtime. Go, Dark Shadow!"
The shadow monster roared, "Got it!" It raced out, arms huge and looking to crush Inasa against the wall.
"Wind Barrier!" Inasa's whirlwind kicked into high gear, forming a dervish around his body. Dust from all around the room kicked up, flying away from him. Dark Shadow raced forward and crashed into him, but his shield deflected the attack wide to the right. Dark Shadow smashed into the wall and pulverized it, letting a very tiny amount of light from the hallway in.
"Did you think it would be that easy?" Inasa grinned, "Tornado Shot!" He yelled and punched forward. The whirling tides of wind that had formed around his arm barreled towards his enemy, howling like its name.
"Damn!" Tokoyami flung himself away, growling once the attack blew a hole in the wall and started letting in actual light from outside into the building. Already he could feel a bit of Dark Shadow's power decrease. "Go!" He yelled, and his Quirk obeyed. It grew to very large size, before trying to clap its massive hands around Inasa.
But again, the Wind Barrier technique rebuffed his efforts. His arms couldn't close all the way, and a real hand would have been getting shredded by the winds. "Not going to work, Villain!" Inasa laughed, before letting his winds explode outwards and knocking the hands away.
For a moment, Inasa wasn't covered by any airstreams, and that was when Shōji struck. Inasa's instincts screamed at him to move – the barest whisper of disturbed air alerting him – and he flung himself wide right as Shōji's massive fist passed where his head had been.
"Oho, we've got a party now! Let's go!" He dashed towards Shōji, the air churning around his body as he spun – much as he had during the Quirk Apprehension Test – and the multi-limbed boy groaned as he felt part of his costume get shredded as he dove out of the way.
"Tokoyami!" He formed a mouth on one of his tentacles, "We need to corral him! Use Dark Shadow to force him into a corner so I can take him out!"
"Stare into the abyss!" Tokoyami yelled as he forced Dark Shadow to maximum size, trying to box their opponent in.
"Your little buddy is smaller than he was a minute ago!" Inasa was audibly smirking as he took that fact in. His eyes went to the small hole letting sunlight in, "What, you don't like a little light? You're going to hate this then!" He threw a fist upwards and the winds howled. The sound of crumbling stone and shrieking metal rang through the air as Inasa tore a large hole directly through the ceiling, "Nothing more fiery than the sun!" he yelled as Dark Shadow started to hiss as it was hit by the sunlight. The monster shrunk down and shrunk back toward Tokoyami, its confidence gone.
"No!" Shōji dove for Inasa, hoping that he could get just one limb on the man, but Inasa was too fast.
He blurred out of the way with a shriek of wind, before burying a fist into Shōji's midsection, "Guah!" The masked boy groaned as he was flung away, spinning like a horizontal top before crashing into the wall. He slumped down and did not move again, except to clutch himself in pain, on his knees and one forearm.
"You negated our strengths with your tactics and immediately sussed out my Quirk's weakness." Tokoyami bit back a groan, "You're too good."
"Wahahaha! I have to thank my man for that! I never would have thought of something like that before I met him." He rose into the air, "Surrender Villain!"
Tokoyami smiled, "Plus Ultra!" Dark Shadow shot forward once more, much smaller and less angry than he had been in the earlier parts of the fight but still game.
"That's what I'm talking about! Show me that hot-blooded passion, Tokoyami!" And seeing as his opponent had dispensed with the role play, he did the same. He formed a wall of wind that rebuffed his opponent.
"Hrmph!" Tokoyami huffed, "Your Quirk is too strong by half. You have amazing defense and amazing offense, both at range and up close" He smiled again, "I must thank you, Yoarashi. I don't quite think I would have thought of trying something like this if I hadn't been facing you. Dark Shadow! Return!"
"Got it!" Dark Shadow spoke again as he returned to the bird-headed student. "What's the plan?"
"Cover me! I shall be the one who shall embrace the abyss!" Tokoyami used a low tone, and Dark Shadow saw what he wanted to try through their bond. The monster writhed, before engulfing Tokoyami. It formed what amounted to a second skin on top of Tokoyami, acting like a suit of armor around his upper body, "Tenebrous Abyss Body!"
Inasa had a blinding grin on his face, "That's what I'm talking about! Did you just invent a new move on the fly? Way too hot blooded! You're definitely hanging out with us!" His body was once again engulfed with a dervish, "That's too much of a mouthful though! Wahahaha!" he shot forward. Tokoyami mirrored him, and Inasa stopped short and launched into the air to dodge a massive claw swipe. Enhanced by Dark Shadow, Tokoyami gouged out the floor, leaving long, deadly-looking marks on the pavement.
Inasa's wind shuffled him around, pushing him with almost jerky movements until he was behind his opponent. Tokoyami whirled around to try to stop him, but Inasa was still just too fast. He took Tokoyami's legs out from under him and while the dark boy floated, he launched a two-handed Tornado Shot at him. The winds howled, drowning out Tokoyami's groan of pain. Tokoyami slammed into the wall, spiderweb cracks forming upon impact along with small little strips of paint shredding off the structure from the gusts. The darkness-loving boy landed right by Shōji and struggled to get up.
"Sorry buddy, but you're too new to that move! We'll fight again soon!" Inasa promised, before he raced downstairs to the barricaded door and opened it easily. The bomb sat right where Kōda said it would be. He put his hand on it and smiled as All Might declared the Heroes the winners of the exercise.
-]|[-
"Excellent work, you four!" All Might beamed at his newly-healed students as they walked back into the viewing area, "You all did phenomenally!"
Kōda clearly did not agree and was staring at the floor but All Might put a hand on his shoulder, "None of that, young one. I said you all did phenomenally, and that most certainly includes you. Remember that not every Hero has to throw a punch. You proved your prowess by finding that bomb. Your abilities would be invaluable for search and rescue as well as locating hostages! You did your job!" Kōda started tearing up and started nodding mutely. All Might's grin turned a little sheepish, "But I've gotten ahead of myself. What say you?"
Izuku raised his hand first and shot an apologetic look at his friend before speaking, "Inasa was obviously the MVP, but I can only say that because he beat both of the Villains and secured the weapon. He stopped to chat with his opponent and wasted valuable time that he wouldn't have been able to waste in a real situation."
Momo nodded seriously, "He also rushed ahead as soon as his partner located the bomb, and that led to Kōda-san getting captured with him none the wiser. By contrast, the Villains had a brilliant plan that was only foiled by being outclassed by their opponent's abilities."
Then Iida chopped forward, "Not only that, but even though he seemed to break character once Yoarashi-san displayed his strength, Tokoyami still took the opportunity to grow! That move he used was clearly unpracticed from what I saw. Did you come up with it on the fly, Tokoyami-san?"
"I did." Tokoyami rumbled in satisfaction, a smile on his face, "I call it Tenebrous Abyss Body."
Crickets.
Mina snickered, "That's too much of a mouthful, ya Chūnibyō! Can you imagine yelling that out in a real fight?"
"That's what I said!" Inasa cackled for a moment, not at all bothered by the criticism. That was how someone improved, right? They were right. He had made mistakes in that match, and he looked forward to correcting them.
Tokoyami – meanwhile – was stewing slightly as he took in the friendly ribbing over his naming skills. Finally, he raised his voice a bit, "Oh fine! Is Black Ankh better?" A vein twitched slightly above his right eye.
"Loads better!" Mina cheered excitedly, "That's a really cool one! Come up with a few more and you have a naming scheme!"
"Excellent work, all of you!" All Might was rapidly feeling his limit approaching like a runaway train, and knew he needed to get away, "You all performed wonderfully and there were no injuries that couldn't be fixed. All of you should look at this as a success and learn from both victory as well as failure. In fact, losing is one of the most important things you can do in these simulations, because you learn about your limits and find ways of overcoming them!"
Most everyone in the class cheered, though a few muttered that they were "almost letdown" by such a straightforward lesson, after all the twists and turns of Aizawa's lesson.
"Hahaha!" All Might laughed boisterously, "You were told weren't you? How we run our classes is our prerogative as teachers here at U.A. All of you may change out of your costumes and return to your homeroom! Now, watch closely as you see how a Hero exits a situation! All Might, AWAY!" And with that, All Might stood still.
"Uhh… didn't he say he was leaving?" Mina asked in confusion.
And then the after-image All Might left behind disappated, making Mina squeak in shock, "Holy shit he's that fast!? How did he even get out of the door? It's still closed!"
"Such language is unbecoming of U.A. students!" Iida chopped his hands.
"Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud!" Mina giggled as she stuck her hands behind her head. The students gradually started to trickle out into the sunlight as light bickering sounded from the group.
"Uhh, everyone! I know we were already dismissed, but if we could have your attention please!" Izuku's voice was a little shaky, but everyone (well, mostly) looked to him. Izuku smiled at Iida, "Would you like to lead off? I know you had something to say too, Iida-kun."
"Of course, thank you Midoriya-kun!" Iida had his helmet off and coughed before adjusting his glasses and speaking, "I feel the need to emphasize that we all need to improve our teamwork! As you all saw and experienced, the teams who performed the worst were the ones made up of people who tried to do everything on their own. Some of you are already aware, but my big brother is the Pro Hero Ingenium!"
He allowed the small wave of awe from those who weren't aware to wash over him before continuing. "And teamwork has always been something he – and my parents likewise – emphasized when they had the time to teach me. I never quite fully understood what he meant until today. All fifty of the Heroes, sidekicks, and interns at his agency have that ideal drilled into them. A single Hero on their own can be taken out by well-prepared Villains. One of us can never be as strong as all of us."
Izuku smiled at all of them, "T-that's right. But teamwork is only one half of the equation! Individual strengths are important too. Sorry for using you as an example Kōda-kun, but with your gentle temperament and apparent aversion to violence, I am quite curious as to why you followed Inasa into the building? A far better use of your abilities would have been to flood the area with rats and have them distract the Villains instead."
Several of the girls shivered in disgust, with Hagakure even yelling at him for putting the idea in her head, but for once Izuku didn't flinch at being the object of such negative attention, instead standing his ground. "We have to remember to play to our strengths. Not everyone is suited for – or even interested in – direct combat or stealth and reconnaissance or rescue. That is why proper planning is also key to accomplishing our goals!"
"That's right!" Momo nodded and put her hands on her hips as she added her own two yen. "And perhaps most importantly, we all have to leave our egos at the door. Full stop. Several matches were lost because of poor attitude. We're here to be Heroes! To help people and save lives! Nothing else matters in the face of that. Not our own personal glory or rankings!"
At that she shot a slight glare at Todoroki – who looked pensive – and then Bakugo – who was stewing and looked to be paying them about as much attention as he would afford a rock, making her glower momentarily – before she relaxed and smiled at them all, "We have to learn from these failures – not only our own but those of our peers as well – so that we can move past them and not make the same mistakes a second time. We're all here with the same goal! We have to start from the bottom and work up. If we can't move forward and earnestly cheer each other on, we'll never be top Heroes. Thanks for listening." She bowed, which Iida and Izuku mirrored.
After that, almost everyone cheered or applauded. "S-so manly!" Kirishima crowed, crying manly tears again while holding a shaking fist in front of his face, causing Momo to sweatdrop.
After that, gradually, everyone started walking away. The group that they had formed that morning ended up walking together and talking, with Inasa pulling Tokoyami in as well despite his half-hearted protests. The group slowly started coming up with ideas for their study group, the fading voices eventually leaving the faux city silent.
…
Katsuki was one of the last to start moving. He hadn't moved much at all since his loss was explained. He hadn't really been listening much to the other students either, too lost in his own thoughts. His fists were clenched tightly, and his teeth were grinding. All his life, he'd been told how he had an amazing Quirk. How he was the best around. And he had believed it wholeheartedly and with passion, forming almost his entire personality off of it.
And now his world was practically crashing all around him. The sheer power of Half-n-Half's Quirk…and the fact he still got nearly crushed by weaker opponents despite it. Then there was that damn Whirlwind bastard. His Quirk was equally as powerful, and he had singlehandedly done what Katsuki himself should have done; crushed his opponents and won.
But worst of all was Deku. That damned pebble suddenly seemed like a mountain in front of him. They had been kept apart so Katsuki had not been able to beat his ass directly, but the simple fact was that Deku had won his match and Katsuki had lost. Deku had done something he couldn't do. And that meant that Deku had been better than him.
For someone who had been told he was the best his entire life… this entire day had been one crushing defeat after another. And that was after the crushing defeat of the previous day. He wasn't the best in the class. He wasn't even top three. As far as he was concerned that meant he was at the bottom of the barrel…. He ground his teeth and stalked away, nearly breaking a tooth from his gnashing. This couldn't go on. He had to be better. He had to be stronger. He had to be faster.
And if he took anything away from what the extras were saying… it was that he had to be smarter too.
-]|[-
All Might had barely closed the door of the staff lounge when smoke exploded from his form. Once it cleared, he was revealed resting his hands on his wobbly knees and gasping for breath, "I could barely even last the whole class!" Even as he panted, his mind was firing a mile a second, 'The most inflated egos are often the most fragile. As his teacher I have to counsel Bakugo-shonen, but perhaps punishment is also warranted. That kind of attack…'
"You are the height of irrationality." Aizawa's voice cut across his musing.
Toshinori started to chuckle, "I suppose I've heard that one before." He straightened up, "I think I will have to seriously consider revealing this form as an alternate teacher. There's just no way I will be able to keep this up as well as perform my duties as the Top Hero like this."
"Your duty is to the students now." Aizawa sipped at his juice, "Remember that." He eyed the deflated Hero seriously, "How did they do?"
"Well." Toshinori smiled as he took his seat near the other Pro Hero, "Very well, in fact. I am quite proud of them." He paused, and his smile became a little strained, "Well… for the most part. Some of them will definitely need extra... guidance."
Aizawa's gaze sharpened, "I'm not going to like what I see in some of these reels, am I?"
Toshinori almost shrunk away from the sudden menace wafting from his fellow teacher, "No… I don't suppose you are."