Welcome back everyone :D
I know its been a long wait, but now that I've got things a bit sorted I'm ready to finish off the season so to speak, with a short character arc and the final exams!
I've made you wait long enough so no more stalling! Lets kick off this next arc!
"So... You're the new one that the Master is letting live," The wild eyed villain noted, as he looked over Kasumi's broken body, "You don't look so special..."
She narrowed her eyes at him, "Well its a good thing I'm not here for you approval." Kasumi scoffed, "Hmph, I've seen your face before, so to speak... You were in the news, after attacking UA... Tagua, and you had something to do with the Hero Killer didn't you?"
Shigaraki clenched his fist tightly for a moment at the mention of the Hero Killer, before releasing his grip, "That's right... I'm somewhat of, a leader in the League of Villains, the Master lets me carry out missions I want..."
"The teachers pet, it would seem." Kasumi thought, but given her state decided not to say it, "Well, I look forward to working with you," She said with mild sarcasm, "Once I'm healed, that is."
"Yes, I heard you had a nasty run in with a certain group of brats." Shigaraki narrowed his eyes sharply, "And you've got a real murder craze over one of them..."
The way he spoke about it, Kasumi could sense some level of contempt in villains voice, "Yes... Kaiji Adachi... You know him?"
"Let's just say, you aren't the first person he's irritated." Shigaraki grumbled, crossing his arms, "Forget about that brat, we'll take care of him if he gets in the way of our real plans... And I promise you, when that happens, I'll help you tear him apart myself!"
Kasumi managed a painful smirk as she looked up at him, "I think you and I are going to get along just fine..."
. . .
"BWAAHAHAHAHAHA! WHAT THE HECK BAKUGO!?"
The casual banter of early morning class was shattered by Kirishima and Sero's laughter, as Bakugo entered. Kaiji himself was somewhat surprised, seeing his normally wild, spiky hair was now combed down and well kept. Though, he decided to keep it to himself. Deciding to not also become a target for Bakugo's rage, he simply leaned back and took in the school atmosphere. Everyone was so cheery, talking among themselves eagerly about their internships. It was nice to know not everyone had as messed up a time as he did.
"But you know who really changed?" Kaminari's voice cut in through Kaiji's thoughts, "Those three!"
Kaiji followed his gaze to Midoriya, Iida and Todoroki, "That's right, they were attacked by the Hero Killer himself... And got saved by Endeavor... That must have been terrifying."
"Yeah," Eijiro chimed in, "I heard about what happened, I'm glad you guys are alright."
"I was worried too..." Yaoyorozu nodded with a frown.
"You guys were lucky that Endeavor was there," Ojiro added, "I can't imagine what would have happened if he wasn't there..."
Hagakure butted in right after him, "But that's just what I'd expect from the Number Two hero!"
"Huh?" Kaiji quirked an eyebrow, noting a moment of... Hesitation? On Todoroki's face.
"Yep... He sure saved us." The white haired boy said calmly, Midoriya and Iida nodding with approving smiles.
"What the heck was that?" Kaiji questioned confused, seeming to be the only one that noticed the strange exchange.
"But we weren't the only ones in trouble," Midoriya spoke up, seeming to notice that all attention was one them, "I was really worried about you Ashido, I heard what happened with the fire, and then you got captured by that crazy villain?"
"That's right," Sero added, looking towards her as well, "Wish I'd been there, I could have helped."
"I'd only just left," Sato said, crossing his arms, "If Uraraka and I had been there we totally could have helped!"
"Its fine really," Mina nervously laughed, "I got lucky, and everyone is okay, so lets not dwell on it right?"
Luckily, before more questions could be asked pressing the subject, the door opened and Mr. Aizawa stepped in. Silencing the students and forcing everyone back to their seats. Kaiji couldn't help but release a sigh of relief, eyes scanning across his fellow classmates. Sharing looks with Jiro, Eijiro and Tokoyami. The four nodding to one another, making Kaiji smirk faintly, before class finally got under way.
. . .
"I am here! I hope you're ready to return to our lessons!" All Might stood before the class with a big grin as usual. It was hours after the day started, and after lunch the class was told to suit up and head outside. They were at the entrance to another training facility, this one looking far more industrial, "Today it's Hero Basic Training, feels like I haven't seen you in awhile! Welcome back!" He greeted, his disposition just emanating excitement and enthusiasm, "Now then... Listen carefully for what's in store! We're going to be conducting a little race, take what you might have learned from your Internships and apply it to this rescue training." He instructed, holding up a finger.
"Sir," Iida raised a bandaged arm, he wasn't in costume because of the injuries he'd sustained from the Hero Killer, "If this is rescue training shouldn't we be at the USJ?"
"Ah, that place specializes in disasters," All Might explained, "But as I said, this is a race! So, PREPARE! You'll be stepping into Field Gamma! Inside you'll find an area full of factories that form an intricate labyrinth! So good luck finding your way around... You'll be competing in three groups of five and one of six," He went on, going over a paper he had on hand, "Starting on the outskirts of the model city, I'll be hiding somewhere inside and release a distress signal when we begin, the first Hero to reach me wins!" All Might raised a pointed finger, slowly bringing it down, "Do whatever it takes to reach me first! But do try to keep the property damage a minimum please..."
Kaiji stifled a chuckle, as the pointing finger landed on Bakugo, "Why are you pointing at me?" He grumbled in annoyance.
"Alright! First group, get to your places!" All Might continued, after reading off the group listings.
Kaiji watched the screen with the other students intently, ready to see what anyone else might have learned. "Midoriya, Iida, Ashido, Ojiro and Sero... It would seem like everyone here has good mobility aside from Ashido and Midoriya." He reasoned, looking to the other students, "But none of them know about Ashido's new abilities, except maybe the other girls from the locker room... It'll be interesting to see how this plays out, but even with Midoriya's incredible strength he's at a huge disadvantage here."
"Everyone ready? BEGIN!"
As the horn sounded, most of the classes thoughts were validated as Sero took off from the ground. Using his tape ability to swing high over everyone and move quickly, while Ojiro swung around by his tail, and Iida blasted away with his engines. Meanwhile, Ashido was sliding along the pipes using her acid slime, surprising Kaiji.
"Geez look at him go!" Kirishima exclaimed as he watched Sero, "Of course it'd be easier to just stay above everything!"
"Which means Sero's at a huge advantage because he can take to the skies." Shoji added, crossing his arms as he watched.
But Sero's lead was short lived, as a green flash blew by. Kaiji's eyes widened, as Midoriya took the lead! "Woah! M-Midoriya!?" He exclaimed in surprise.
"Since when can he do that!?" Kaminari questioned.
"Those moves..." Uraraka muttered as she watched, "He's flying around... Just like..."
Kaiji understood what she was saying, remembering seeing how he moved during the Sports Festival. And as he looked to the light haired boy, he could tell Katsuki Bakugo was not happy about Midoriya's new advancements, "That guy really needs to learn to calm down..."
Ashido herself gasped as Midoriya flew by her, she was almost to the top of a building, using her acid to climb by creating holes to grab onto with her hands and feet, "No way... Since when can he do that!?" She exclaimed, narrowing her eyes, "Alright... Looks like I don't have much choice, if I wanna win this!" She pulled herself up over the side and onto the roof. Running towards the far edge while the students watched.
"What's she doing?" Mineta asked, "Is she gonna jump!?"
Kaiji smirked, "Yeah she is..."
"HYAAAGH!" Ashido cried, leaping from the side of the building, as the students cried out in shock. Well, most of them anyways, a certain few knew all about her new powers. A flap on the back of her costume opened, and she let her wings spread wide! Startling everyone as she began flying! Using her dive from the building to create momentum before pulling up and gliding on the wind, racing past the green haired boy.
"A-Ashido can fly!?" Midoriya blurted in shock, distracted from his landing, his foot slipped and he fell from the pipe, "Agh!"
"Haha!" Ashido beamed, flying fast towards the center point, and touching down before All Might, a few flaps slowing her descent before she landed, "I WIN!"
Sero landed a split second later, "Man I was so close," He sighed shaking his head, "Since when can you fly though Ashido?"
"Heh, its a long story." She laughed nervously, as Ojiro, Iida and Midoriya arrived moments later.
"Congratulations!" All Might beamed, holding out a ribbon for Ashido who accepted it eagerly, "Young Ashido may have won, but you've all shown great improvement since your training began! Keeping working and preparing for your upcoming final exam!"
"Yes sir!" Everyone nodded, before beginning to clear the field.
Kaiji noticed All Might walk over to Midoriya, they shared a few words before he walked off. And started calling the next group up to the training area. It was his turn now, so he made his way inside along with the others. It looked like he'd be up against Jiro, Shoji, Bakugo and Asui. He narrowed his eyes slightly at Bakugo, noting the frustrated, aggressive look on his face, having a bad feeling as he proceeded inside...
. . .
When the horn sounded, Kaiji took off with his new speed. Keeping an eye out for the others as they all raced towards the point. Unlike the first round the signal was coming from a focal point further north in the facility. It seemed like the were all going to get funneled towards it from the same angle. It was strange, were they meant to try and get in each others way? Or was the point going to change randomly after each race?
The sudden sounds of familiar explosions told him Bakugo was nearby. Narrowing his eyes, he pushed on harder. His scales glowing brighter as he increased his speed, jumping over a rooftop and landing on a long pipeline, racing on ahead. As he continued, he saw the form of Bakugo flying through the air propelled by his explosions.
But there was something different about him now, his movements seemed less precise. More wild and unfocused, landing on another row of pipes and breaking into a sprint, "Is he still upset after seeing Midoriya?" Kaiji wondered, steadily catching up with his own impressive speed. It was then that he noticed Bakugo had some competition for first, Asui taking up the right flank and covering incredible distances with her jumps. And suddenly from below, a burst of dust erupted, and Jiro came flying up over the pipes as well.
"J-Jiro!?" Kaiji exclaimed in surprise, seeing her Earphone jacks plugged into her legs. Though, they weren't connecting to the amps, they were connected directly to her legs, like she'd used against Zodiac, "She's generating more force through her legs to create long jumps, that's smart." Adachi realized, but he felt like he was forgetting something about that power.
"Ha ha!" Jiro laughed, blasting herself forward again with another sonic burst from her legs, "Looks like I'm catching up Bakugo!" She said eagerly, a sense of pride filling her, "I'm doing it! I got stronger, and I'm actually competing with Bakugo! He's like the strongest in the whole class!" She thought with amazement, "Did you lose your touch after the festival!?"
"Grr... Shut it ear freak!" Katsuki barked at her, blasting himself ahead to gain more distance. As he did so, Kaiji noticed his breathing was getting ragged. He was pushing himself too much, overusing his Quirk.
"That must be why he switched to running instead of flying!" Kaiji realized, pushing to keep up.
"Yeah well this Ear Freak just took the lead!" Jiro was beaming, the first time she'd actually gotten ahead so much in training. She was coming down from her long jump, landing far ahead of Bakugo. But before she touched down, her eyes widened, "Oh crap! My legs!" Just like before in the shipping yard, she had overused her Quirk on her own muscles. The intense vibrations had made her legs go numb! "Crap crap crap! AGH!" She cried in pain, hitting the pipes the wrong way with her ankles. Her left leg bent the wrong way, definitely broken. But that wasn't the end of it, without her feet, she was falling from the pipe!
And it was a long way down...
"JIRO!" Adachi cried out, too far away to catch her.
"B-Bakugo HELP!" She cried out, trying to reach him with her earphone jacks stretching out.
"Tch, if you can't control your Quirk that's YOUR PROBLEM!" Bakugo shouted, swatting away her jacks and blasting himself forward.
"BAKUGO!" Kaiji exclaimed in shock at his actions.
"Hey!" Jiro shouted after him, "GAH!" Anything else she might say was cut off, as Jiro hit a thinner pipe with her side. Knocking the wind out of her before she continued falling.
"Hang on!" Before she could hit the ground, a long pink tongue wrapped around her, catching her just in time, "I've got you!" Asui assured, jumping down nearby to check her over.
"Tch, with that stupid frog distracted there's no way I don't get there first." Bakugo sneered, pushing forward, "She should have worried more about herself than that los-"
Bakugo was cut off dead in his tracks, as Kaiji slammed down in front of him scales glowing. He'd overcharged his muscles momentarily to catch up, "What the hell was that all about Bakugo?" He demanded sharply.
Katsuki glared daggers at him, "If you know what's good for you, you'll get out of my way."
"She could be seriously injured, don't you care at all?" Kaiji questioned, clenching his fists, "What kind of a hero ignores saving people huh!?"
"I've got no time for you weakling!" Bakugo roared, blasting into the air with his Quirk and trying to bypass him.
But Kaiji intercepted, leaping into the air to meet him. The boy was surprised, not expecting this kind of mobility from him. Which made sense, nobody else had seen what Kaiji could do in his new form just yet, "You think you're so much better than everyone Bakugo? You may be talented but you're the poorest excuse for a hero I've ever seen!"
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Bakugo roared, thrusting both hands forward and unleashing a blast at Kaiji. The boy brought up both hands, covering his face as he was blasted. It stung, but he didn't budge, lunging forward through the cloud and throwing a punch at Bakugo. But the boys reaction time was too good, dodging it by moving himself with a blast. "GAH!" Luckily that was exactly what Kaiji predicted, striking with his tail and nailing Bakugo right in the ribs. The two landed a few feet away from one another on the pipes, Kaiji slightly burned and Bakugo gripping his stomach.
Just as it looked like the fight would continue, an alarm sounded, "We have a winner!" All Might's voice sounded. Kaiji and Bakugo both looked towards the end point, it had been in sight for some time now. Standing atop it with All Might was Shoji, holding the ribbon. But in an instant, All Might vanished with his incredible speed, "Are you all right?" His voice came from down below, as he looked over Jiro with Asui.
"Ngh... I-I think I sprained my ankle... Might be broken, and my ribs hurt pretty bad..." Jiro answered, holding her side and grateful she didn't have feeling in her legs yet.
"Young Asui, please use the emergency phone to let Recovery Girl know she's got a patient." All Might requested, before turning his attention to Bakugo and Kaiji, leaping into the air and landing between them, "And you two, mind telling me what that was all about?"
"Tch, ask lizard lips over here, he's the one that got in my way." Bakugo scoffed.
Kaiji growled at him, clenching fists, "How'd that tail feel tough guy?" He asked in a mocking tone, "How about I give you another one, maybe upside your head this time!"
"YOU WANNA DIE!?"
"Bring it on!"
The two glared daggers at one another, even as All Might spoke, "Lock it down, Both of you!" He ordered, raising his voice, "Bakugo, back to the viewing area, if I hear anything else from you I'll send you to the Principals office, and Adachi, help young Asui take Kyoka to Recovery Girl."
"Whatever..." Bakugo grumbled, walking off.
Adachi begrudgingly nodded, "Yes sir..."
. . .
The next round of testing had already begun, All Might put the distress beacon further from their position so Kaiji and Asui wouldn't cross paths with anyone else on the way out. They walked together mostly quiet, as Kaiji still had a rather annoyed look on his face as he fumed over Bakugo, currently carrying Jiro bridal style towards the gates they came in through.
"I'm sorry that happened..." Jiro finally said, wincing a bit. Her slight embarrassment of being carried like this was gone by now, "I got too excited about using my new power, didn't realize I'd overdo it so quickly."
"Ribbit, you couldn't have known that would backfire right then." Asui assured, glad the silence had ended, "But that new power is amazing, when did you learn to do that?"
"Deatharms gave me the idea during some of our exercises before patrol," She explained, leaning her head back and staring at the clouds, "It sucks, I need to get a better handle on it so my muscles don't go numb... It worked so well against Zo-" Her words hitched in her throat as she realized what she almost said, Kaiji giving her a sharp look.
"What was that? Ribbit." Asui asked, tilting her head.
"Nothing, ignore me." Jiro waved her off quickly, turning attention to Kaiji, "Hey are you alright? Bakugo blasted you didn't he?"
"A few scuffs, but I'm fine." Adachi assured her with a grumble, "I still can't believe what he did... It'd be one thing if he hadn't been close enough to help, but he had a chance and just..."
"Yeah, he's a jerk." Jiro sighed shaking her head, "He's always been that way, I don't think I've seen him do a single nice thing since we started class here..."
"It looked like you really made him mad Adachi," Asui noted, tapping a finger to her face, "I'd be careful if I were you, ribbit."
"I can handle him," Kaiji scoffed, the exit gate in sight, "If he wants to pick a fight, I'll be ready."
Jiro let out a short laugh even though it hurt, "Now there is a fight I'd like to see..."