The whole class was waiting outside the lodge for Aizawa. He wasn't late. He was talking to Sekijirou who was the 1-B homeroom teacher. Sekijirou was better known as Vlad King. Aizawa was coordinating with him so they wouldn't get in each other's way. According to Ashido class 1-B arrived early Tuesday. Unlike them they didn't get the same forest rampage treatment. That meant a few things to Izuku. One, Aizawa was pushing class 1-A as hard as he could. Two, they were potentially behind 1-B in pure development due to the villain attacks. Three, this was just the result of good scheduling.
No matter the case Izuku was interested in what today was going to be like. He needed to reacquaint himself with his quirks. Practicing with Tiger could easily do that. Man was like Gumby after all so he was good against most of Izuku's quirks.
Aizawa was walking back to them with his hands in his pockets. "We're going to give them space today. That means you better prepare yourselves for a bit of a hike," Aizawa smirked walking past them. Pixie Bob came along with them. There was a mutual consensus that 'a bit of a hike' didn't mean that at all. In fact they were all prepared for the opposite. When Pixie and Aizawa started to jog the rest of the class got the hint.
20 minutes later the whole class was at the base of the nearby mountain. There was an already cleared out area. That didn't bode well for class 1-A. "We're going to call out pairs! Pixie Bob is going to limit the area for each pair. This is a sparring day. I don't want to see any serious injuries. We're going to give all of you conditions to fight within. For some this will be about discovery. Others this will some off your weaknesses to a greater extent," Aizawa declared.
"Ashido and Midoriya!" Of course he was called up first. Pixie directed them to a plot of area that was no bigger than 2 meters by 2 meters (7ft by 7ft). This was a horribly small area to fight against someone as dangerous as Ashido. He was no joke either, but then the parameters came: "Midoriya, no quirks other than enhanced strength. Ashido, no limit for you." Izuku gulped getting into the ring with Ashido.
For the next 2 minutes they setup the rest of the matches. There was some comical pairs like Mineta and Todoroki. Ojiro and Momo was an amazing combo. Uraraka and Aoyama had to square off. Katsuki and Asui were pitted against one another.
Aizawa was up the slope from them, "All of you have to hold out for 1 hour. If anyone quits early by anything other than knock out, I'll be adding you to the night courses!" A few people shuddered at the thought.
Pixie blew a whistle and they were off. Izuku wasted no time throwing off his shirt. It wasn't going to protect him or help so it had to go. If not for decency and embarrassment his pants would go too.
"Mmm, you're much better up close," Ashido teased being at nearly point-blank range from him. They're fighting area didn't give him much room to maneuver. Izuku figured that was the point.
However, he couldn't help but blush being so close to her. Izuku shook his head, "Come on. Give me your all." He put up his fists. Green lightning coursed over his arms and legs. He could go for about 2 hours in this state. That was assuming he wouldn't put in over too much Stockpile. His Full Body use of Stockpile was more or less .027% constant drain per sec. That was without adjusting his output and matching the old Full Body form.
Ashido pivoted in a quick motion. Her kick snapped up and almost caught him off guard. Her kick landed against his guard. Izuku decided it was beneficial to either of them if he went on the defensive. If he had to guess this sparring was about her fighting an overwhelming opponent. She would be forced to really use her acid. Up to this point she hadn't used her quirk on people. Melting concrete or steel was no big deal, but she wasn't about to permanently disfigure someone for just sparring with her. Except in Midoriya's case he had the power to regenerate just about anything she could do to him. His fat storage was around 60kg. This more or less allowed him to regenerate 60kg worth of mass. That wasn't exactly how it worked, but it was a good enough approximation.
Ashido kept on the assault. She had yet to use her quirk. Izuku decided to force the matter. During one of her punches he caught her wrist. He step by on the same side. While he was moving around he kicked out her foot on the same side and forced her down to one knee. By this point her held at a sharp angle behind her. A hand was placed on her shoulder keeping her grounded.
Ashido struggled a few times. His strength was just too much to force through. At this point she was just being stubborn. "Use your acid to free yourself," Izuku demanded. Then she produced weak acid. Sure it burned and hit, but it wasn't anything that impressive. He sighed.
Izuku let go of her wrist. His right arm went over and around neck. His left arm came through her left arm pit and locked in his right arm. He stood up straight straining her ability to stand. "Do you think if I was a villain I would be treating you so well right now?" Izuku whispered into her ear. The neck lock wasn't strangulating her per say but it was uncomfortable as hell.
"What's that suppose to mean?" Ashido retorted struggling. Pixie seemed to get the idea as where this was going and erected walls around them that were about 2m(7 ft) in height. Made it look like they were in a cube.
Izuku adjusted his hold so that just his left hand was holding her by the throat. This time he did pick her off the ground by her neck. "Villains like to play with their prey," Izuku felt a grin surface. That response was out of the norm for him. Yet it felt so natural. A tinge of a headache came on. They want out. His other personalities, his other self wanted to take over. It felt wrong to deny himself a part of what was core to his personality, but his quirk and that part of him weren't right. That level of confidence, anger, and ferocity tended to manifest in far too honest ways.
Midoriya felt one hand run down Ashido's side. It was a clear message. It was his idea, but not his will to execute it. The message was even clearer as he traced her curves. She was about to get pissed at him for being a pervert, but this was a real situation. It was potential outcome fighting a strong enough villain.
Ashido got serious. Near max strength acid made contact with his wrist. His wrist literally melted and if not for the inner ligament would have fallen off. She had freed herself and put a little distance between them.
The green-haired teen's effect of her body could not be ignored. Being the prey in that situation got her a bit hot. If she had been a weaker woman he would have just choked her out. Ashido knew he wouldn't have actually done anything, but the thrill was there.
Bones mended. Ligaments and muscles formed. Finally, skin sealed the wound. In the span of 3 seconds his injury was gone. "Good. Progress. Now use your acid and actually fend against me," Izuku instructed. She nodded and put a thin layer of acid on her fists.
Mina had to admit that was a bold move. At first she felt bad and concerned that she nearly melted his hand off. After seeing the super regeneration in action her opinion changed. Izuku wasn't going to get hit intentionally from this point on. He had given her a freebie. Except her throat was bruised. He had also riled up the part of her that was a woman. Midoriya never would have done that in a regular setting.
Her plan of attack was to augment her kicks and punches with near max strength acid. It had to be just before the impact as keeping that kind of acid on her skin for too long hurt. It was a double edged blade she was determined to master. If anything Midoriya gave her a perfect out to practice acid potencies. It was the thing she was most worried about. Now she had a way to practice without killing anyone.
She kicked off her shoes to better deliver kicks. "We should do this again some time. I'd like to find out exactly how strong my acids need to be for people," Mina commented. Swapping acids on the fly was a conscious effort. She slicked the ground so she could stake. It would have acted as an oil slick too if not for Midoriya's ridiculous strength. Instead of slipping he would step down hard and crack earth.
"I'd be more than happy to oblige you, but you'll owe me," he grinned.
Trading Favors? Mina grinned. Those were her kind of deals. "Fine by me!" Mina confirmed jumping off a wall. She flipped in midair and brought her foot down. Acid splattered all over this guard when he blocked. Mina backed off and slid across the small space. She came to understand that he wasn't going on the offensive. This was a godsend for her. She may be confident in her abilities but he was a force of nature in comparison. Save for her acid, not one attack had connected with anything other than his guard. Which felt like punching or kicking steel.
- 1 Hour Later -
The wall around Ashido and Midoriya was removed. Ashido was panting and her shirt was soaking wet with sweat. Ochako felt a little bad for her. Midoriya wasn't looking worse for wear or tired at all. The brunette being concerned got up to her friend. Aizawa had given them a 5 minute break. Kirishima and Bakugo came over to Midoriya to recount their sparring.
Aoyama was laying on the ground from their bout. She offered him a hand before she left. He took it, "Thank you, mademoiselle." She smiled from that. Despite his sparkling pride Aoyama was a nice guy.
Ochako walked over to Ashido. The pink teen was sitting on the ground. Pixie had given out water bottles to those that asked. Ashido had just chugged her second. "Are you okay, Mina?" Ochako asked standing above her.
"Yeah, doing great actually. Using a lot of acid just dehydrates me quick as hell," Ashido nonchalantly replied waving her hand.
"Using a lot of acid?" Ochako was a bit concerned. Less for her and more for him. What exactly did they do? Ochako wondered looking over at Midoriya.
"Yup," she stood up grinning, "His body took a lot of acid to burn through. Plus halfway through he started to be... active."
"Active? Like fighting?" Ochako asked confused.
"More like grappling and throwing. I guess my slick acid has some impact absorption once it gets thick enough," Ashido explained pointing to the ground Midoriya had been near. There was 5 inches of acid sitting in a reservoir.
"How come you don't have any in your hair or clothes for that matter?" Ochako wondered.
"Its just slick. No acidity. The composition is more like a gel than a normal liquid," Ashido explained making a ball from her hand. Ochako picked it up. Damned thing almost slipped right out of her hands. It didn't want to stick to anything and it was going to make you work for holding it.
Ashido started laughing seeing Ochako juggling it before it flew out of her hands. The ball soared through the air. Just before it hit Jirou a psychic box was put around it. She still jumped when the little ball splatted against the psychic wall.
Jirou padded her face and body making sure none of it got on her. "Sorry!" Ochako called out from across the area.
"No problem. I've got a guardian angel," Jirou nudged Midoriya. She was smirking and he was a good sport about the whole mess.
Round 1 was up. Ochako figured they would go 8 rounds before the day was over. For most that would be one hell of a marathon fight.
"Todoroki and Midoriya!" was the first set called out again. Those two got their own makeshift arena to fight in. The most notable feature was 2m (7ft) thick walls surround the stage. "Midoriya, no explosion, physical enhancement, or telekinesis. Todoroki, no limit," Aizawa declared.
They got into the arena. Izuku rolled his shoulders. He'd have to engage Todoroki in melee combat. Aizawa blew the whistle this time. Todoroki wasted no time sending a wave of ice at Izuku. It would have been effective to if not for the one particular quirk he was allowed. Green flame erupted from his chest turning his shirt to ash. The wave of ice turned to steam before it ever approached him. Izuku hair was a flickering green fire. His entire upper body was covered in green fire. It was a thin layer but one could see the haze of heat.
"This match isn't about raw power, Todoroki," Izuku pointed out making toward the dual haired teen. Todoroki was speechless at first seeing the Flame Armor of Izuku. The area got so hot Todoroki begun sweating. This was not the normal flame he was used to his father producing.
"You're right. This is about keeping my cool in the face of my father's quirk," Todoroki admitted feeling his memories getting pulled. Izuku for a moment looked like the splitting image of Todoroki's father from his youth. A whole host of emotion came out. Anger, fear, sadness, and pain were just a few of them.
"Come on, Todoroki, take all that bottled anger and punch me in the face," Izuku beckoned him. Todoroki coated his whole body in ice and charged at Izuku. Without his physical enhancements this would be an even match. Except of course, that Todoroki had to stay close to Izuku. With that much ice all around him he'd need to stay close to maintain equilibrium.
Izuku for once was the aggressor. In his many years training with Katsuki he had learned a few things. Katsuki had the instinct to naturally pursue his opponent's weaknesses and strengths. Just once Izuku forced his friend to boil it down to something understandable. Something that Izuku could apply if need be.
Katsuki's checklist was very simple: first step was check speed and reaction times. This was always the greatest determiner for fights of near equal skill. Second step was to check strength and durability. Some people are just naturally inclined to either one. In the case of strength, avoid getting hit. In the case of durability, wear them down before delivering any decisive blows. Third step adapt to everything. Katsuki explained this as the willingness to see a new option or plan at a moments notice. For Katsuki his body usually moved before a plan was decided upon. In terms of combat potential that gave Katsuki an unreal advantage. Even after a decade Izuku was still getting that last step down.
The green-haired teen had no shortage of plans, options, and attacks. The problem was applying the right one to the right problem. He had found that his ultra confidence with Endeavor's quirk allowed him to act like Katsuki in combat. The downside was well the overconfidence.
Todoroki and Izuku were trading block to hit one after another. It turned out that Todoroki's physique wasn't for show. Neither of them were faster or stronger. Izuku was surprised they were an even match in pure melee combat. Keeping this battle going on for another hour would be another story. Punches and kicks turned to grapples and reversals. Eventually, they were just all out brawling. Nothing landed and both their quirks were getting stressed out.
- 1 Hour Later -
Shoto was panting. He kept his stance up like his father had taught him. If not for the required one hour they would have thrown in the towel some 30 minutes ago. Still they fought until the bloody end. His arms and legs were bruised from blocking. Midoriya didn't look like it but the man could fight. Thanks to that super regeneration of his damage there was no issue. In a pure attrition battle like this, Shoto knew he was out classed. Still no matter how much his muscles burned or protested he pushed on. Hopefully, his next opponent would go easy on him.
The whistle went out and in an instant both of they're quirks stopped. Midoriya dropped to his knees panting. Shoto rose an eyebrow. While his determination was unbroken Midoriya would not fall. It was also a sign that Midoriya didn't take the fight personally.
"At first I thought you were all show," Midoriya sat on his ankles and gestured to Shoto's torso.
"My father made sure to train me thoroughly," Shoto replied. As much as Shoto hated to admit it, his father pushed him towards being the best he could be. Shoto had a question, "Those flames were green. Are those a quirk thing? Or a synergy thing?"
"Synergy. Power Stockpile. The only quirk, er quirks, I didn't tell them about. That green flame is equivalent to the blue flame Endeavor can do. It's not as hot as his, but it'll do in a jiffy," Midoriya answered standing back up. Midoriya strode over to Shoto. He offered him a handshake. The pads of his fingers were growing a soft green. "Is that Healing? Can it restore stamina?" Shoto questioned hesitate to take the hand.
"I can't restore stamina, but I can make the bruises and your muscle ache less," Midoriya smiled at him.
His smile was damn near infectious. Shoto smirked and shook Midoriya's hand. Green energy enveloped him for a moment. All the bruises subsided. His muscle soreness was lessened.
"Thank you. I'm a bit more tired, but I'll manage," Todoroki smiled and let go.
"The fatigue should pass. You're going to be way more hungry than most of us by dinner though," Midoriya laughed sheepishly.
"Midoriya and Kirishima!" Again Midoriya was first. Either they had an out for him or he was the most important to put on a team. It struck Shoto for a moment that perhaps Midoriya was more a tool to be used by the teachers rather than teach him anything. He knew Midoriya had trust problems with a few of the other classmates. The class had trust issues with him too. It was somewhat collectively dashed when Midoriya proved that he no longer needed to keep his quirk active.
Izuku groaned in his head. This was going to hurt. Kirishima was literally like punching a brick wall. Kirishima couldn't be more hyped. Izuku couldn't help but smile at his infectious energy. "Midoriya, Force Nullification only. Kirishima no limits," Aizawa instructed leaving them in their arena.
Worse possible outcome. I'll got about a 110kg limit on Force Nullification without Stockpile. Kirishima probably weighs less than that, but it won't be able to hold him for long. I'll just have to inert his attacks and release asap, Izuku pondered. If he hadn't kept his hand on his chin, he would have undoubtedly returned to old mumbling habits.
Pixie Bob sounded a whistle. Kirishima wasted no time. The red-haired teen ran headlong at Izuku. Kirishima threw a right hook. The defensive teen left himself wide open. Izuku grabbed his wrist and step into his foot. With a slight pivot Izuku knocked him off balance. A hand made contact with Kirishima's chest. The red-haired teen hit the ground with a resounding thud. The grounded teen had hardened before impact.
Kirishima was grinning up at him. Ah shit, Izuku said in his head. A hard kick hammered Izuku's guard. That hurt. It was like getting hit by a steel bar. Kirishima jumped up standing. Again he was on the offensive. Izuku dodged the next punch. A hard palm connected with Kirishima. Even with the hardening it still hurt both of them.
"Just like Bakugo. I can't let you get a clean hit in," Kirishima was grinning madly.
"I can't let you get in one either. Those rocks you call fists hurt," Izuku was grinning back.
It was an all out brawl.
- 1 Hour Later -
Both of them were panting and sweating up something fierce. Neither of them would give the other any ground. The whistle was blown and both of them fell over. "Nice job," Izuku held up a thumbs up.
"Right back at you," Kirishima held up his thumb. The only way this moment could have gotten more bro-tastic would have if they fist pumped.
Aizawa gave the class a 20 minute break. There were three more matches left. That was according to Aizawa. However those three matches would be more interesting. His words not mine.
"Listen up! These next bouts are about team building. For those of you facing an overwhelming force your mission will be to incapacitate them. If you can do this within the hour I'll excuse the rest of the day to that team. Make no mistakes though! Villains sometimes have powerful and dangerous quirks that require exemplary teamwork to take down,"Aizawa explained earning worried looks from his class.
Momo raised her hand. Aizawa pointed to her. "I thought this was about improving our quirks?" Momo asked.
"Good point. The villains in this exercise with not be on the offensive. They're only task will be suppressing the 'heroes'," Aizawa replied before he grinned.
"Bakugo, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, and Iida. You five with be designated as the juggernauts," Aizawa stated as Pixie Bob made the 5 arenas. Yaoyorozu rose her hand again.
He gave her the floor. "Shouldn't I be swapped with Midoriya?" Momo wondered feeling a bit nervous questioning the teacher.
"I wonder if that's true. Sounds like you don't believe in yourself," Aizawa pointed out.
"I-No, I do," Momo replied.
"Good. In order to beat the juggernaut all you have to do is ring or KO them," Aizawa grinned. A few people were worried that this could be one hell of an afternoon.
Drakonite227:
Last update and the two places I'm posting will be caught up. Fanfiction will be moving to a one a week posting schedule. Monday will be the day I post.
