Ch 07 - Sounds Like a Training Exercise II

"Hero team wins!"

"What the heck? The losers have barely a scratch on them and both winners are on the ground!"

"They lost the battle but won the war, huh?"

"Even though this is a training exercise, they held nothing back!"

The room was abuzz with Team A's shocking win. This whole time they had been watching the battle between Midoriya and Katsuki as if it was a 1-on-1 fight but instead of attacking Katsuki, Midoriya chose to use his Quirk to punch through three floors of the building. It created an opening for Ochaco to use her Zero Gravity Quirk and retrieve the weapon, claiming the victory.

While All Might went down to the battle ground and send Midoriya to get more medical attention from Recovery Girl, the rest of Class 1A were locked in heavy discussion about what had transpired.

"He had to go all out if he was up against someone like Bakugo!" Denki said.

"But All Might Sensei should've stopped them before it got to this point," Momo said, "Midoriya-san looks seriously injured."

"Naw! That was a manly fight!" Eijiro Kirishima said as he pumped his fist up in the air, "Sensei made the right call."

"Gerro. Weren't you the one who kept asking if he should stop them?" said the frog girl, who mentioned to the class that morning that she liked to be called Tsu.

Throughout everything, Neon kept quiet as she dissected everything internally. So many questions went through her head.

This battle was clearly personal for Midoriya and Katsuki. Given what Midoriya had said about Katsuki giving him the name Deku, she knew the relationship between him and Katsuki was tense but she didn't realize it was to that degree. What was it about Midoriya that triggered Katsuki so match? The anger was definitely one-sided and Midoriya wasn't the type to keep aggravating someone intentionally.

Also, given that they knew each other before high school, how did Katsuki not know Midoriya had a Quirk? Were they not close? But...they were close enough for Midoriya to call Katsuki 'Kacchan'.

Neon pushed these little curiosities out of her mind. She knew she had to focus on the training exercise as she had to learn all of her classmates' failures and successes. Their decisions and actions are the deciding factor on who she would be going up against but for some reason, her brain just kept going to Midoriya. There was something puzzling about him, which was totally opposite of his character. From what Neon could tell, Midoriya was a good-natured person, who was passionate and sincere about being a hero. He wasn't the type to have secrets.

Fwoomp!

Clank!

The sound of the automatic door sliding open behind her surprised her from her thoughts. She let out a little gasp and on instinct, a sound bubble emerged from her and she held up her fists in front of her face in a defensive stance and her helmet fell to the ground. It took her a second to realize it was Tenya, Ochaco, and Katsuki with All Might. They had returned to review their battle and for All Might to announce the next teams to go.

All Might's smile shined at her for a beat and then the hero let out a full laugh. "Ha! Sorry to startle you, Young Nishiyama. We have returned to review the battle and to announce the teams! Could you please release your bubble so that we may enter the room?"

"S-Sorry. Old habit," Neon mumbled as her hands fell to her side and the bubble vanished with a pop. She bent low to pick up her helmet and as she stood up, she intentionally directed her gaze at All Might, as not to make any eye contact with her fellow classmates.

She hadn't done that in a long time. It had been awhile since she had let her guard down that much. She was thankful none of her classmates were voicing their thoughts out loud but she was sure she startled many of them.

"Well! Let's begin our review of the first battle!" All Might shouted as he marched to the front of the room, "The Heroes have won the battle but with that said, the MVP for this round is Young Iida!"

"Eh?" the class murmured while Tenya's jaw dropped.

"It's not either Ochaco-chan or Midoriya-chan?" Tsu asked.

"Hrmmm. Well, why is that? Does anyone know?" All Might demanded.

Immediately, Momo's hand went right up. "Yes, All Might Sensei. That is because Iida-san adapted the most to the context of the training. From watching the match, it appears Bakugo-san acted on his own because of an obviously personal grudge...And as All Might Sensei said earlier, it is foolish to launch a large-scale attack indoors. In the same way, taking into consideration the damage he received, Midoriya's plan was also rash. As for Uraraka-san, she let her guard down mid-battle and her final attack was too reckless. If she treated the weapon as a real nuclear weapon, she would not have been able to do something so dangerous. Iida-san had prepared for his opponent's arrival and assumed it would be a fight over the weapon, which made him late in responding to the final attack. The hero team only won because they took advantage of the fact that this was training. They were practically breaking the rules."

"W-Well, Young Iida also has parts of him that could be more relaxed," All Might said with a waver to his voice, indicating to Neon that he had not expected any of the students to hit the nail right on the head, "But...well, that was correct. Great work, Young Yaoyorozu!"

The rest of the class gaped at Momo while Neon's lips twisted into a thoughtful frown.

If I go against her, it would be a battle of intellect as well as strength. I'll need to be careful.

"One must start with the basics to develop depth of learning. We must strive to devote ourselves wholeheartedly," Momo said with her hand on her hips, "Otherwise, we cannot become top heroes."

"Alright! Let's move on to the next group and a new location. Tackle this training after thinking about what we just talked about!" All Might said.

"Yes, Sensei!" the class exclaimed.

The next teams to go turned out to be Todoroki and Shoji versus Ojiro and Hagakure, with the latter team being the villains. After what happened in the first battle, Neon knew this one would not be as intense but she still kept her eyes peeled. She could not afford to miss a single detail.

"Ah! Hagakure is taking off her gloves and boots," Denki shouted as he pointed at the monitor, "She's going to be completely invisible!"

"Ahhhh?! What a waste," Mineta said with a defeated sigh, "If only the girls we can actually see had to do that too…"

Thwack!

"What the hell are you saying?!" Jiro shouted and gave Mineta a hard punch across the face.

Neon's eyebrows raised as she stared at the small boy in a new light. Must be careful of that one too...For an entirely different reason…

"Now! Let's start the second indoor person-to-person combat training match!" All Might announced as he sprinted back into the room, "The timer starts...NOW!"

Shoji opened up his many tentacle-like arms with ears sprouting out at the tips. Then, a mouth appeared on one of them as Todoroki approached his partner. They could see that Shoji was saying something to Todoroki, who then walked deeper into the building.

Then, to everyone's confusion, Shoji exited the building and Todoroki raised up his right hand. Frosty air emerged from his palm and then he flattened it up against the wall.

"EH?!" the class gasped as the entire building was encased in thick ice. The opponents feet were stuck in place by it too so Todoroki easily walked past them to get to the weapon. It was a quick and overwhelming victory. His opponents never stood a chance.

"H-HERO T-T-TEAM WINS!" All Might announced through chattering teeth as everyone started to huddle together to keep warm. The chill from the ice had reached the monitor room.

Hearing that, Todoroki placed his left palm on the frozen weapon and the ice began to melt and slowly formed steam.

"W-Wow!" Sato shouted.

"What's up with that Quirk?" Denki asked.

"As expected of someone who got in through recommendations," Tsu said.

"Alright. Everyone return and let's review!" All Might shouted into the mic.

"What's to review? Todoroki won that single-handedly!' Sero gasped, "There was nothing anyone can do against it."

Neon sucked in a breath. There was no doubt in her mind with such a sudden victory that she would be up against this team.

What could I have done?, Neon thought to herself.

The rest of the training went by without as much shock as the first two battles but still, Neon took everything in quietly but with intense concentration. Each move and decision by her classmates were processed through her head and spat out with an idea of how to counter or an alternative option. It was like gathering multiple instruments and creating a symphony.

Neon knew she might not be the top of the class when it came to physicality but when it comes to improvising, she was confident she had them beat. Still, she was not here to flaunt her skills. She was here to improve and get stronger.

"Alright, Young Nishiyama! It is your turn now and you will be going up against Team B!" All Might declared and then he stuck his hands in the boxes to determine what roles they would play, "Ah! It seems luck is on your side, Young Nishiyama! Team B will resume as heroes again!"

Neon shrugged. "Villain. Hero...Doesn't matter. I aim to win."

"I know you're a girl, Nishiyama-san," Kirishima said with a grin, "But that's pretty manly."

Neon turned to Shoji and Todoroki and she bowed slightly. "I know you have already done this but please take this seriously. I will be doing my best and I hope you will be too."

"Ah," Shoji said while Todoroki continued to stare with a poker face.

"Very well. Please proceed to Building F! Team B, you will be Heroes again and Nishiyama-san, you will be the villain!" All Might shouted.

Neon nodded and then proceeded to the designated area. She was on the 6th floor of an empty building. It was much like the previous battle. She, too, had a papier-mache replica of a nuclear warhead behind her. She closed her eyes waiting for the timer to start.

"Ready? The battle begins…NOW!" All Might said.

Briiing! Bongggg! Wub wub wub wub wub!

Neon's fingers danced around the buttons, playing beats like a DJ, and with each sound, she snapped her fingers and bubbles appeared out of the speakers on her shoulders. She moved both of her hands outwards and the bubbles spread to different corners of the building.

Snap!

Various sounds erupted through different parts of the building. If they were trying to gauge her position, they would definitely not get to it with sound. However, she knew she was doing this purely out of precaution as Todoroki didn't need to know the previous location to immobilize the villains. On the flip side, Neon counted on the fact that the other team would not act so quickly as they did before. Only an idiot would try the same move twice and Todoroki was no idiot. Neon could tell.

That's why it was time to put her actual villainous plan in motion. She let out a long exhale and then moved the weapon to the corner of the room furthest from the windows but close to the door.

She let out another long exhale and pressed one of the buttons on her suit.

"Eeeeee!"

A high-frequency sound in low volume came out of her speaker and it formed into a bubble about the size of an apple.

Neon let out another breath and then it stopped short when she saw that she could see the actual warm air fogging out of her lips.

Todoroki's on the move!

She snapped her fingers while touching the bubble with her right index finger. Suddenly, the bubble grew so large it almost took up almost the entire room, leaving just enough room for Neon to stand in the corner with the weapon.

Crash!

As soon as the bubble was fixed into place, the windows glazed over with ice and then Todoroki came crashing through the middle window with his left hand covered in icy mist while Shoji came rushing in through the door but skidded to a halt immediately when he saw Neon's sound bubble.

"Todoroki, wait! Be careful of the bubble!" Shoji shouted just as Todoroki was about to land into the room.

Hurriedly, Todoroki grabbed the window frame with his right hand and balanced himself on it. He was a breath away from the bubble. A small piece of glass that did not break off from the window pane cut into his hand and a thin trickle of blood started to trickle down his arm.

Neon drew in a sharp breath and for a second her sound barrier wavered but she quickly collected herself. "That is a high frequency sound wave that will blow up this entire floor should you burst it," she warned, "It is not as sturdy as my sound barrier. Even a temperature drop from your ice attack can cause it to burst...It would damage not just me but the weapon too...If this was a real nuclear weapon, you would risk blowing up the entire city. Millions of lives are hypothetically at stake."

"What?! That's so extreme! Why would you go to this length?!" Shoji asked, "All Might Sensei already said it would be foolish to launch a full-scale attack indoors."

"But I'm not launching an attack. This is defense. Whether or not the sound bomb goes off...well, that's in your hands. The heroes," Neon said, "Your move."

"You..."

Shoji shot a stunned look over to his teammate. "Wh...What do we do?"

Todoroki's expression remained still but a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face. He wasn't even looking at his partner, just staring directly at the opponent, as if trying to read her mind.

"Concede," Neon said, "Wrap yourself up with the capture tape or say you give up. Those are your only options."

Minutes rolled by with the heroes and villain at a stalemate with Neon shooting quick glances at Shoji every now and then but mostly keeping her focus on Todoroki, her biggest threat. This plan was a huge risk but it was the only one she could think of. She couldn't win in a straight forward fight with Todoroki so she had to resort to this. Mind games.

"...Ridiculous," Todoroki said finally breaking the silence and suddenly, ice stretched out from under his grip and it immediately covered the room and freezing Neon's feet into place. The sudden force and drop of temperature destroyed her sound bubble almost instantly.

"Pop!"

"EEEEEEE!"

Instinctively, Shoji covered his ears with his hands and dropped down to the ground but Todoroki remained the same with just a thick layer of ice over his ears. The sound wave that burst through the room was the exact same level as when Neon first created it and she felt her stomach drop right down to her frozen feet.

"Eh?... That wasn't a loud sound at all…" Shoji said as he slowly got to his feet while Todoroki calmly crossed over to Neon.

"For someone who reacted as you did to see someone getting hurt...even as small as a cut to the hand," Todoroki said, passing by Neon and putting his bleeding hand on the weapon, "You couldn't possibly put something there that would actually cause harm. I call your bluff."

"Once again...HERO TEAM...WINS!" All Might shouted into their ear pieces.

"Damn it…" Neon chuckled softly when Todoroki started to melt the ice with his left hand, "I thought I had you there...I didn't fool you at all, did I?"

"No…" Todoroki said slowly, "The reason why I acted was that I saw how often you looked at my hand...If my hand didn't get cut, I might have conceded."

"I definitely felt backed into a corner," Shoji admitted from the doorway, "So you got me, at least, Nishiyama. I think the MVP for this round will go to you."

"I did what I had to," Neon shrugged.

From back in the monitor room, All Might's smile was fixed on his face. Behind him, the students were chatting amongst themselves about the events but his eyes were fixed on the timer that had stopped as soon as Todoroki had put his hand on the weapon, securing the win.

11 minutes and 32 seconds.

Young Nishiyama may have lost this round...but she pushed the fastest winning team to have one of the slower times without hardly lifting a finger! This one...this one's strength isn't in her power. It's in her mind. She has unexpected methodologies. Ah...this is a hero people won't see coming.