Chapter 9: The Scare of my Life
-
After bidding Izuku good luck in his mock battle, I made my way over to Mina and Tsuyu. They were engaged in a conversation of some sort, although when Mina spotted me, she quickly quieted down.
I eyed them suspiciously. "Alright, what are you guys talking about?" Mina feigned ignorance and shrugged her shoulders.
"Oh, nothing." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Tsu and I were just talking about what we were doing after class today." Why didn't I believe her?
Tsuyu shook her head slightly and turned to me. "We were talking about you."
"Me? Why would you guys be talking about me?" I looked at them questioningly.
"Well, we were more talking about you and Midoriya-chan." I could already see where this was going. Tsuyu tipped her finger against her mouth. "You two seem to be pretty close already, and it's only the second day of school."
"That's what love will do to ya, right Hannah?" Mina gave me playful punch to the shoulder.
"I-I am not in love with Izuku. We're just f-friends, that's all!" I crossed my arms and turned away from them, mostly to hide the blush that had spread across my face.
"I dunno, Han. Friends don't usually blush bright pink in each other's company." Mina leaned in closer to me. "Plus, I saw the way you were looking at him." I stiffened and I felt my blush grow.
"W-What do you mean?"
"When we got back here from our battle, you looked at him and immediately spaced out."
"How do you know if I was looking at him?"
"Because you started blushing and had a goofy smile on your face." She put her arm around my shoulders and smiled at me. "Don't worry about it, girl. We all have our crushes in school."
"I never said I had a crush on him. Like I said, we're just friends!"
"Alright, Mina. Give her a break." Tsuyu walked over and put her hand on my shoulder.
"Aww, I was just teasing her." She offered me her fist. "No hard feelings, right?"
I accepted the apology and raised my fist to meet hers. "Yeah, you're fine." She smiled at me and turned her attention to All Might at the front of the class.
I gently put my hand on Tsuyu's shoulder. "Tsu, can I tell you something? I didn't want to say anything in front of Mina, in case she gave me a hard time."
"Sure, Hannah. What is it?"
"Well... I guess I do have a bit of a crush on Izuku. I don't know what it is about him, it's just... he's so nice, and smart, and cute..." I could feel my face heat up as I thought of him.
"I figured, you weren't very convincing. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
"Thank you, Tsu." I gave her a quick hug, which she reciprocated, and we both turned back to the front of the class, as All Might was trying to get everyone calmed down.
"All right! Let's begin the second mock battle! Team A and Team D, your time starts now!"
I turned my attention to the video screen. There were 5 different cameras showing different parts of the hideout, with one camera perched above the hallway where Kaminari and I fought. I wondered how it looked to everyone in here.
Izuku and Ochaco made their way in through one of the windows. They quickly made their way down the hall, peeking around every corner before they turned around them. It was smart, they didn't know what the villains could've planned, if they planned anything at all.
Suddenly, Bakugo came flying around the corner and made contact with the wall, narrowly missing Izuku. He had dived out of the way, taking Ochaco with him.
"Uraraka, you okay?"
"I'm fine. Thanks!" She gasped quickly. Izuku's mask had been destroyed, the left side of his face and head now exposed.
"I'm okay. It's just my mask."
Bakugo pulled his hand free from the wall, and the dust cleared. There was a huge hole in the wall just from his attack. Was that meant for Izuku?
"What's the matter, Deku? Afraid to stand up and fight me?"
Izuku stood up. "I knew you'd come at me first, and figured you'd try to catch me by surprise."
Bakugo charged, quickly closing the gap. "I won't hurt you so bad they'll have to stop the fight. Just close!" He threw a punch, but Izuku met him halfway and caught it, taking hold of his arm.
He turned, pivoting on his right foot. He flipped Bakugo over his shoulder and slammed him to the ground. I
"Kacchan. You always use a big right hook to start a fight. I know because I've watched you for years. I analyzed every amazing hero, even you. I wanted to learn everything I could about them. It was all in the notebook you burned and threw away.
"You can call me Deku, but I'm not the same helpless, defenseless kid anymore! From now on, Deku is the name of a hero!" I thought back to last night, when we hung out at Ochaco's house. It seemed like such a long time ago. I blushed slightly and smiled. "Deku." I quietly whispered it to myself.
In the meantime, Bakugo had gotten to his feet. The look on his face made it clear that he wasn't acting. He was genuinely furious.
"Deku. You're shaking in your boots, you're so scared. But you wanna fight me anyway. That's why I hate you!" He propelled himself forward with a small explosion and aimed a kick at Izuku's head, which was easily blocked. Izuku turned to Ochaco.
"Uraraka! Go!" Ochaco took off down the hall.
"Ballsy move. Think you can take me alone?" He threw another punch, again connecting with the wall instead of Izuku, who dodged again. I could feel myself getting excited. Izuku was holding his own, without even using his Quirk. It was beginning to feel like he had a chance against Bakugo.
Izuku turned and ran around the corner. I knew Bakugo wasn't going to give him time to think, and it seemed Izuku knew that too.
"Get back here, Deku!"
He quickly lost Bakugo. He seemed pretty lost himself, although that's bound to happen when every corridor looks the same. He kneeled down behind a corner and looked back around it. The sounds of Bakugo yelling in the halls could be heard.
Mina pointed to another camera. "Hey, look! Uraraka found the weapon!" I looked over to the camera that had looked over the room with the weapon inside. Tenya looked like he was monologuing or something, we didn't have audio on this camera. It was kind of funny seeing him like that, he's usually so straight and narrow.
"Why aren't you using your fancy Quirk?" I looked back over at the camera looking at Izuku. Bakugo had found him. The look in his eyes, it was almost crazed. "Don't tell me you're underestimating me, Deku. Get over here and show me what you're really made of."
"Kacchan. I'm not scared of you anymore." Bakugo just grinned at him.
"Since you're such a stalker, by now you probably know how my Quirk, Explosion, works. I secrete nitroglycerin-like sweat from my hands and make it blow up. Imagine what I could do if I had a lot of it." He held up his right hand and pulled back on the pin of one of his grenade gauntlets, revealing a smaller pin poking out of the side.
"That's right, theses gauntlets aren't just for show. They've been storing up my sweat inside for one monster blast." He wrapped his finger around the pin, and prepared to pull.
"Young Bakugo!" All Might yelled into the mic. "Don't do it! You're kill him!" Worry spread across my face. I was right. Bakugo wasn't playing the part of a villain, he was actively trying to hurt Izuku.
"He'll be fine as long as he dodges!" He pulled the pin, and out of the end of his gauntlet fired a huge fireball, trails being gouged out of the wall and floor. It engulfed Izuku and blasted a large hole out of the front of the building. I gasped and covered my mouth, looking on in worry.
"Come in! Come in, Midoriya!" I held my hands together, prayed that Izuku was okay. The smoke cleared, and the extant of the damage became apparent.
Izuku was laying to the side of the path of the explosion. The rest of his mask and the sleeve on his right arm were gone, but he look otherwise unharmed. I felt a small bit of relief that he was okay, but I had a feeling Bakugo wasn't done with him.
All Might raised the mic to his mouth again. "Bakugo. Use that stored-up power again and I'll stop this fight. Your team will lose. To employ such a strong attack indoors in inviting the destruction of the stronghold you should be protecting. That's a poor strategy, whether you're a bero or a villain. The penalty would be a massive loss of points."
He launched himself at Izuku. "Fine! We'll fight hand-to-hand!" Izuku tried to counterattack, but Bakugo changed direction in mid-air, and blasted Izuku in the back. He hit him with a right hook and grabbed his arm, using explosions from his free hand to slam Izuku in the ground.
I looked away from the screen, and I felt Mina put her arm around me. She could probably sense how upset I was getting. I could feel tears forming in my eyes. I didn't know how much more I could watch. This fight should've been stopped a long time ago. What was All Might waiting for?
Izuku got up and ran to the wall. He didn't have anywhere else to go. "You've always been stronger, Kacchan. I know that you're better than me." I looked back at the screen at Izuku's words. "Can't you see? That's why I wanna beat you. Because you're amazing!"
"You're even more of an idiot than I realized. Come at me!" They rushed at each other and launched themselves into the air, both with their arm wound back.
Izuku's arm started to glow again, like it did during the entance exam. The rest of his right sleeve shredded away. Both fighters threw their attacks at the same time, but it didn't look like Izuku's attack was aimed at Bakugo. Izuku threw an uppercut, but it missed.
Suddenly, the ceiling above them shattered. The wind generated by the attack flew their every floor and came out the top of the building, and continued into the sky.
Everyone was shocked, stunned silence filled the monitoring room. All Might slowly raised the mic. "The hero team... wins!"
I looked over at the other camera. Ochaco had managed to grab the weapon in the ensuing chaos. Looks like they had a plan after all.
The smoke and dust began to clear from Izuku' attack. I looked at Izuku, and was horrified. The arm he used in the attack was broken, red and angry. His other arm, he used to try and block Bakugo's attack. He had been burned, badly. I could see the pain in his eyes.
I could feel the tears running down my face. I could do nothing but watch helplessly as he went limp, and fell to the ground.
~~~~~Mina's POV~~~~~
I put my arm around Hannah's shoulders. She looked at me with tears falling down her face, clearly upset by what just happened.
"Are you alright, Han?" She shook her head and wiped away a tear.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. It's just..." I nodded my head and held her closer. It was obvious that Hannah cared for Midoriya's well-being greatly.
"I know." We've all had those moments, when you just need a hug or a shoulder to cry on. I've been there a few times myself.
Eventually, the tears stopped and she took a deep, shaky breath to calm herself. Her eyes were red and tired looking. But the smile on her face said she was alright now.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Tsu and Yumi were making their way over to us.
"Ah, look at you two lovebirds. Enjoying your time together?" Yumi received a smack to the cheek from Tsuyu's tongue.
"Hannah, you've been crying. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Tsu." She playfully ruffled her hair, which I found endlessly adorable.
"Ribbit."
"Yeah, she was just worried about Midoriya. She'll be fine, she's a big girl." I gently patted her on the back.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Han. I didn't realize," Yumi quickly gave her a hug.
"It's fine, Yumi." She gave a smile and hugged her back. It was nice to see Hannah smiling again, I didn't like seeing a girl as pretty as her crying.
The door opened and that smile dropped. All Might, along with Uraraka, Iida and Bakugo, walked in. I took a look at Hannah and she was staring straight at Bakugo. Tsu and Yumi had also noticed Hannah's quick change of mood.
I saw a flicker of blue towards the bottom of my vision and looked down at it. There was blue electricity flowing along Hannah's hands. My eyes widened and I quickly realized she was about to do something rash. Yumi came to the same conclusion, stepping in front of Hannah.
"Han, I know what you're thinking. It's not a good idea." Hannah clenched her fists, and tried to push past her.
Yumi put her hand on Hannah's shoulder. "Just breath." She breathed in and out, showing Hannah what to do. The girl closed her eyes, and started breathing deeper.
"Nice thoughts, alright?" Hannah nodded, continuing to take deep breaths. She opened her eyes and the electricity stopped flowing. She looked around at us, then back to Yumi.
"Thanks, Yumi." Yumi patted her shoulder.
"You alright? You're not going to go pimp slap anyone after class, right?" She received a nod.
"No, I want to hear you say it."
"I'm not going to pimp slap anyone after class."
"Alright, you better not."
Tsu put her finger against her mouth. "Wow, Yumi. You handled that like a pro."
"Oh, it's just a breathing techique I taught her." Yumi nonchalantly waved it off.
I started bouncing up and down. "Wow Yumi, could you teach me that? It seems nice."
"Uhh, sure. After class?" I nodded excitedly. "Great. It's a date."
Eventually, the villain hideout was repaired, and we were able to get on with the mock battles. Yumi and Momo were able to secure the weapon against Koji Koda and Rikido Sato, no relation to Hannah Sato, and in the last match, Tsu and Fumikage Tokoyami were able to defend until time ran out against Hanta Sero and Eijiro Kirishima.
After we got done, All Might gathered us up in front of the main gate.
"That's a wrap! Super work. You really stepped up to the plate. And, we didn't have any major injuries, except for Midoriya. You should be proud. Excellent first day of training, all around!" He shot us all a thumbs up.
"It's nice to hear some encouraging words after our homeroom class," Tsuyu said. "Mr. Aizawa was kind of a buzzkill."
"I'm happy to bring such staggering positivity to my alma mater! That's all for now, folks. I should go and check on Young Midoriya's progress! Now, watch how a pro exits. Like he's got somewhere to be!" He geared up and was gone in a second, a trail of smoke the only thing he left.
After we got changed out of our costumes, Yumi, Tsu, Ochaco, Hannah and I started walking back to homeroom. Yumi and I were talking about the breathing technique Yumi had Hannah doing earlier, and Ochaco and Tsu were talking about what they were doing after school. I noticed Hannah was spacing out again, so I gently tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hey, you alright?" She jumped slightly, but smiled at me.
"Yeah, I've just got some stuff on my mind." She stopped walking and turned around.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"I need to go see someone real quick." She started off towards the nurse's office. I couldn't help but guess that someone she needed to see was a certain green-haired boy.
"What if you're late getting back? You know Mr. Aizawa isn't very fond of that!"
"Just make something up." Why did I have a feeling that wouldn't work all that well?
