Symbyosis
Chapter Twenty: Desperate Measures
"All teams start with aggressive action, but Bakugo literally explodes into action!" Hizashi was back in his element as the Capture the Flag event began. Shouta watched as his students headed into the maze, some encountering other teams, and others doing their best to avoid them. He had taken the weight of each team his students had formed. Bakugo was swarmed by nearly half of 1-A, with several others going to Todoroki. He had been a little surprised when Iida refused to work with Midoriya and Uraraka, but it gave him some hope that his students were stepping out of their comfort zones.
Speaking of Midoriya, the boy's team was somewhat unorthodox. If Iida had joined them it would have been a rounded team that could have used almost any other student to tip the scales towards any one tactic. Without Iida, Midoriya had chosen to recruit Asui, and that was a tactical choice if Shouta had ever seen it. She was a calm and steady presence that could temper most any teammate excepting perhaps Bakugo. That was well and good, but what had truly surprised him about Midoriya was that he had accepted help from outside of his class. Hatsume Mei was a wildcard as far as the hero classes were concerned. They had little time to interact with classes other than their own since school started, so it was to be expected that they would try to stick to their own classmates for teams.
That Midoriya accepted her help despite the initial objections of one of his teammates was telling, and Shouta was paying attention. Bakugo's team ended up being made up of Kirishima, Ashido, Sero, and himself. It wasn't a bad team composition, but as the events unfolded, it was clear to him that Bakugo's leadership skills were lacking. He could certainly be inspirational as an example of what someone could become if they applied themselves, but his communication skills were abysmal even by the lowered standards of first year students. A stark contrast to Midoriya to be sure.
The other teams were interesting as well. Todoroki had ended up with Iida, Kaminari, and Shoji. A fairly balanced team that was suited for many different avenues of attack. The lack of communication was highlighted with this team as well. Todoroki seemed to barely speak and what he did say seemed to be short and curt. He was clearly not utilizing his teammates to their fullest, as Shoji was relegated to defense, which wasn't unreasonable, but he could have been used for recon on other teams and bases or as extra muscle on a base assault. They, just like most of his students, were focusing on individual attacks instead of coordinated strikes. Todoroki was going to need some pushing to become a competent leader.
Yayorozu's team was made up of herself plus Jiro, Hagakure, and Tokoyami. Not a bad composition and she was clearly in her element on a defensive and strategic level. Her team was made for stealth and trickery, but they seemed to be focusing more on trapping and defense. Yayorozu was going to need a large meal at the end of the day however, as she was burning through her lipid store quickly in her attempts to rig up so many traps and defensive devices. Hagakure and Jirou were the assault team, and that wasn't a terrible strategy. The problem was that Tokoyami was a strategically better choice than Jiro for head on fights.
Two of his students had somehow been recruited by a boy from general studies, Mineta and Sato. He wasn't sure how that had happened, but he noted that their movements and actions were somewhat stiff and slower than he knew they were capable of. That bore keeping an eye on, and he was sure that Ojiro was more than a little out of sorts being on a team that had none of his classmates in common. He had been left behind when all of the other 1-A students had been recruited. It was a credit to Shishida's character that he had approached Ojiro at all, which he would have to point out to Kan at some point after the festival.
Bakugo's initial assault had ended fairly predictably, though Shouta was a little shocked that he hadn't gone straight for Midoriya's flag. Considering their intense rivalry and Midioriya's flag being the highest valued, it was interesting that Bakugo would refrain from heading straight in the direction of that particular flag. Perhaps he was showing a little bit of maturity, but Shouta would believe that when he saw it with his own dry, tired eyes. Other groups were making moves as well, Asui had taken the flag from the other non hero course team and was returning to base.
Shouta continued to watch the progression of the teams until Hizashi called his attention to something interesting. "Who brought the hamster ball to this party?" His eyes snapped to the southeast quadrant where a large blue-green orb was rolling quickly down the passages. Shouta wasn't sure how Midoriya was navigating the maze so deftly, but he would be sure to look into that mystery later on. He would never admit it to anyone out loud, but the boy had a razor sharp mind for quirk usage that he was rather proud to be the one in charge of guiding him. Between his 'barrier boulder' and the two other techniques that he'd come up with prior to the festival, Shouta was starting to see why All Might had begun doting on him.
No one would ever pry that particular confession out of him, even over his dead body. He could feel the sparkle of interest in his eyes again, and without any risk of his students seeing it he had no reason to stifle it. He watched Midoriya deftly exit his orb and winced at the same time as Hizashi when it plowed into Tetsutetsu. If Midoriya could ever control the density of his plates, that technique would be devastating to be on the receiving end of.
"Better luck next time Tin Man!"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Ochaco's mind was in a haze and she was finding it difficult to think. She could feel herself moving step by step, but she didn't know where she was going. Where was she? She remembered she was meant to be doing something important, but she couldn't think of what it was. It was important, so she needed to remember but the fog in her head just wouldn't budge to let her think. Step after step she knew she was heading somewhere else now, but not where or for what. If only she could get that fog out of her head she could figure out what was going on.
Then she felt something slam into her, and the steps were interrupted by a sting of pain. Suddenly the fog had lifted and she could remember – the Sports Festival! She had been heading into someone's base to capture a flag, and she had been close to grabbing it when someone had called out to her from behind. She had turned to look and then... everything after that was blank. She tried to remember what had happened after that as she got back to her feet and rubbed absently at her lower back where she had fallen.
"Uraraka! Are you okay?" Startled by the question she looked up from her thoughts to find a pair of concerned green eyes staring into hers. "I didn't mean to run into you but you came out of nowhere."
"Deku?" More details rushed back to her. She and Tsu had been the initial attackers from their team. They had come up with a rotation so that everyone had a chance to show off their skills during the event. If Deku was out in the maze, it meant that Tsu had returned from her assault. Had she gotten a flag, or had she been routed by the other team? "I'm fine. Let's go." Deku nodded and they started back in the direction of their base. She glanced over at him to see that he had a flag sticking out from the waistband of his pants, meaning he was returning from a successful assault. "How many points do we have?"
Without looking back at her he replied, "With what Tsu and I got we have two thousand eight hundred seventy five points." His eyes were flitting about as they walked, no doubt looking for other students that might attempt to attack them and take the flag for themselves. "That's as long as we don't loose our flag," he said and she could see the flashes of intense thought in his eyes when they flitted in her direction. "I know that at least one person is going to come after our flag and they have a good chance of taking it unless everyone is at the base when they attack."
They were still about one hundred meters from base when Present Mic's voice blasted out of the loudspeakers again. "Bakugo drops into Team Midoriya's base like a firebomb."
"SHIT!" Ochaco's eyes widened at the outburst, Deku never swore, but before she could say anything he'd taken off running and she immediately followed. They were running as fast as they could and it almost seemed like time had slowed down.
"That's some aggressive action going on down there!" Present Mic's commentary seemed much too clear for what was happening around them, "Kendo and Yannagi are sent packing from their own assault on Team Midoriya's base, but the defenders have no time to regroup. This doesn't look good folks!" Deku's form seemed to be moving away from her more and she wondered how he had gotten so much faster. She didn't know if it was her imagination, but the lines between his plates seemed to be glowing. She knew she didn't have time to think about it and instead pushed herself to keep up as best she could.
"Ouch!" Mic's voice was filled with sympathy, "Asui is going to be feeling that in the morning!"
They rounded the final corner to the entrance of their base and were passed by two girls that looked worse for wear. One with orange hair in a ponytail and the other with short silver-gray hair covering one eye were stumbling over themselves to get out of the vicinity. Uraraka heard one of them talking as they sprinted past - "That guy's crazy!" There were still about ten to twelve meters before they entered the base, and even running at her highest speed she could just barely keep up with Deku's newfound speed. She could hear the explosions coming rapid-fire from ahead and it sounded like a firework show's grand finale going off.
"Bakugo fights like a man possessed and manages to swipe the flag from Team Midoriya's base," Present Mic gave voice to their worst fears and as he finished his commentary they watched as something launched into the air over their heads. Even knowing that their flag is gone, Deku doesn't slow down and they come pelting out of the maze to find a disheartening scene.
Tsuyu was flat on her back and there was a large chunk of her gym uniform missing near her left shoulder. Her hair had fallen out of its bow and her eyes were dazed. Hatsume was on her feet, but she was nearly in tears over the crushed and burnt form of one of her 'babies'. One of the arm mounted devices lay at her feet and she was fussing over the damage to the one still strapped to her right arm. Worst of all, their flag was no longer atop its pedestal and there are scorch marks all over the area.
"Too slow," Deku said, "I was too slow." The look on his face was one of both disappointment and anger. Deku rarely got angry, and Ochaco found it oddly thrilling to see a side of her friend that she'd never seen before, but she shook it off and refocused on the matter at hand. They were down seventeen hundred fifty points and the remaining points were not going to qualify them for the next round if they didn't do something fast. She looked back over to Deku to see his angry face shift.
Suddenly he had that fire in his eyes again and she felt a shiver go down her spine as she could almost see the plan forming in his head as she watched. "What do we need to do?" she asked him. Then he turned his head to her and looked into her eyes. She had wondered a few weeks ago about seeing that look of determination head on, and now that it was staring at her in the face she felt a tingling sensation in her tummy and the shiver up her spine intensified. It was a terrifying look to behold, but soon the feeling of fear faded as it became apparent that the meaning behind it was not aimed at her. A warm and calm feeling blossomed in her chest, and somehow she felt that there was nothing to worry about. The look in Deku's eyes told her that everything was going to work out fine.
"I know what we need to do," he said. He pulled the flag from his waistband and moved to where Tsuyu lay. "Are you alright?" She sat up and nodded, her eyes were still a little unfocused but she didn't seem to be hurt too bad. "I have a plan to make sure we qualify, but I need you to put this flag with the other one and stay here just in case someone comes looking for them." She took the flag from him and her eyes seemed to focus a little bit more as he spoke to her. "Don't try to fight anyone, but make sure to keep them distracted enough not figure out where the flags are." Tsu nodded and he patted her on the shoulder and motioned to Hatsume and herself to huddle.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"We only have about seven minutes left so here's what we're going to do." Izuku had pulled Hatsume and Uraraka into a huddle and he was putting the finishing touches on his plan as he spoke. "I've been keeping an ear out for the commentary, so I know that there's only one team left we can get a flag off of and still have enough points to qualify." He looked to Hatsume first, "Can one of your babies function as a blade or saw?" Hatsume's tears had been wiped away and a new smile spread across her face. She lifted her right arm and started unscrewing bolts from the device and stripped away a few parts. In seconds the outer casing fell away and she revealed a serrated blade that had been part of the mechanism. With another tweak or two it was positioned over the outside of her wrist to be used as a weapon. "Good," Izuku said. "We're going to need it to help deal with Shiozaki's quirk, but don't use it on anything other than those vines."
He turned to Uraraka next, "Do you think you can handle taking both of our weight and floating yourself at the same time? I think that's within your limits, but you know your quirk best." She nodded firmly and gave him a silent thumbs up. "Alright," he said, "Shiozaki's Flag is the going to be under heavy guard from now on, so we need to get to her base before Kendo and Yannagi get back. That's where Uraraka will do her thing." He pointed in a northward direction. "We're going to be hopping over the walls to get there in as straight of a line as we can and using Hatsume's belt as a grappling hook."
The two girls looked at each other and nodded. "When we get to her base we may have to deal with Tsunotori as well, but I can take care of her if need be. You two are going to have to deal with Shiozaki long enough for us to grab her flag and get out." With the plan laid out he looked at each of them in turn, waiting for any objections. When neither of them said anything he nodded himself. "Ready?" Once again both girls simply nodded.
Without another word Izuku turned and walked to the wall on the north side of their base. "Let's go!"
Soon, he felt his weight leave him and he and Hatsume were floating. They were soon joined by a slightly queasy looking Uraraka and they pushed lightly off the ground to rise above the wall. As soon as their feet were above the maze Hatsume's belt sputtered and there was a soft 'thwip' as the steel cord shot out of its housing. Izuku grabbed onto Hatsume's shoulder and Uraraka did the same opposite him. The three of them were pulled swiftly across several passages, and the process repeated three more times before they alighted atop the wall one away from Shiozaki's base.
"Once we're over the next wall, release your quirk." Uraraka nodded through puffy cheeks and a furrowed brow. "As soon as we touch down head straight for Shiozaki and the flag, I'll join you if Tsunotori isn't there, but don't worry about me if she is. Push Shiozaki away from their flag and grab it, then get back to base as quickly as possible and defend it with Tsuyu." Uraraka was giving him a worried look, but he shook his head. "I'll be fine," he said, "Just get the flag back to base where the three of you can defend until the buzzer sounds, because I saw some other students making their way here while we were moving. Todoroki is among them and if he shows up we don't stand a chance."
He knew he was being pushy, but if his analysis was right this was the only shot they would get. Either they got Shiozaki's flag in the next few minutes, or they wouldn't advance to the next round. Several heavy hitters were heading this way, and the quicker they got in and out the higher their chances of capturing that flag were. This is a solid plan Izuku, Kish's voice echoed from the back of his mind, But are you sure about being the decoy in this fight?
"I know it seems risky," he replied, "But I have faith in my teammates and my plan. They have the best shot at getting away from the rest of our opponents so I have to make sure they get the chance." Kish seemed to accept his answer, because he remained silent. "Alright," he said aloud, "Do it!"
With little more warning than that, Hatsume launched them into the base. As soon as they cleared the wall his weight returned to him and he dropped to the ground. He braced for impact with a knee and both hands, eyes darting around to take in the situation. Shiozaki was near the pedestal just as he's expected, and Tsunotori was near the base entrance. He had hoped she would be out on an assault, but he knew there would be a good chance she'd stayed behind to help with defense while her teammates were out looking for points. Then he hit the ground.
No sooner did he feel the ground under him Izuku darted at Tsunotori. As he moved he could feel it again, just like when he'd been running back to base. A surge of energy and power rolled across his entire body and all of his movements felt stronger. When his foot pushed off the ground he moved faster and farther, and he was on the blond girl before she could fully turn around. Time seemed to slow for him and he grabbed her arm with both hands, one at the shoulder and one at the elbow. He pulled once and swung with all the strength he could bring to bear, and as she lifted off her feet he could feel a yell erupt from his mouth.
He spun around in two revolutions and let go once his arms were pointing up at the top of the nearest wall. Tsunotori screamed as her momentum carried her up and over the wall, her hands scrambling to latch onto the edge of the stone. She missed by mere centimeters and disappeared into the maze beyond. As soon as she was out of sight, Izuku turned to see how his teammates were faring but something caught his eye as he did so. Jerking his head back to see what was happening, he saw something he had hoped to avoid. Ice was creeping down the passage toward the base entrance, and Todoroki was sliding along right behind it.
He spared a glance behind him and saw that Hatsume and Uraraka were slowly pushing Shiozaki back, but at the rate they were going Todoroki would be on top of them before they could get the flag. Feeling his muscles tighten, Izuku set his jaw and charged. He was running headlong into a challenge he knew he had little chance of winning, but it didn't matter if he won as long as he could keep the other boy away from his teammates long enough.
He saw Todoroki's eyes widen slightly as he realized what was happening, and then those cold eyes hardened. Izuku's mind kicked into overdrive as he saw his opponent bring his right hand up, signaling that a wave of ice was about to spring up. He saw the ice crystals form up into the shape of a ramp, and realized that the other boy was planing to go over him. With only a moment to think, Izuku threw his elbow up in front of him and made a shield out of his scales. Three of his plates at the center of that shield remained elongated but not widened, forming something akin to a spike and as he slammed into the ramp's underside Izuku felt that power surge again. Pain blossomed in his elbow, but he ignored it and kept moving.
The ramp shattered into pieces under Todoroki's feet and he slid backwards on his ice a few meters before stopping. There was a frustrated look on his face, and Izuku stood his ground among the shattered ice crystals. He faced down the other boy, ignoring the throbbing in his elbow. Todoroki took a step and ice shot at him again, Izuku made another shield and swung at the oncoming rush of crystals. The ice shattered again, and he felt a few of the plates he'd used crack under the force of the strike. The muscles in that arm also felt like they were on fire. Nothing felt broken, but he was sure there was some kind of damage.
"Move!" Todoroki's voice was as cold as the ice surrounding them.
"I wont!" Izuku's voice was firm. "I won't let you through." The ice came again, and again Izuku smashed it with his shield. More of his plates cracked, and a few fell away. He replaced the broken plates with fresh ones from underneath and held it out in a symbol of defiance. "I'm not moving."
"Fine," Todoroki said and his hand raised again, "Then stay here." This time the ice seemed to rush in from all sides. It came faster than it had before and Izuku was overwhelmed before he could do anything. The ice that surrounded him was almost completely solid, but clear enough that he could see Todoroki begin to move in his direction. Izuku couldn't move, and his mind cast about for a way to break free in time to keep Todoroki from getting past him.
Use the second full body maneuver! Kish's voice roared from the corner of his mind.
Not a second passed between the suggestion and Izuku activating the plates all over his body. Desperation fueling his actions, he pushed as hard as he could and the surge of power came again. The plates all pushed out at the same time, and the force behind them was twice as much as Izuku had expected. Cracks formed in the ice and the noise of it seemed to startle Todoroki, as he stopped short of where Izuku was encased, eyes wider than before.
Izuku shouted "Porcupine Pulse!" Then the plates pushed beyond where the ice had tried to hold them, and the passageway exploded in freezing dust as the ice crumbled away and shattered just as violently as before. "If you want to get past me you're going to have to come at me with everything you've got!" Izuku's entire body was throbbing. Every muscle felt like it was on fire and he was sure he'd need a visit to Recovery Girl when this was over, but until then he was going to make sure Todoroki wouldn't take one step beyond where he stood.
Anger flared on the other boy's face. "I don't need his power!" The ice came again, and again Izuku destroyed it. His body was screaming with pain, and he didn't know how much longer he would need to keep this up. There couldn't be more than a few minutes left in the round, and he prayed for the buzzer to sound.
"Endeavor doesn't own fire!" The words tore from his throat before he realized he had said them. "It doesn't matter where you got your quirk!" Todoroki was looking at him like he had grown a second head and the expression on his face was a mashup of too many emotions. The ice came again, and once more Izuku smashed it.
"It came from him and I won't let him have the satisfaction!" Todoroki's words were firm, but there was a tinge of something in his voice that Izuku couldn't place. The boy's whole attitude towards he quirk irritated him. Todoroki had been gifted an amazing and powerful quirk from birth, and yet he refused to use it to it's fullest potential because of something between him and his father.
"THEN DO IT FOR YOURSELF!" Izuku didn't know why he was shouting, or why it seemed to matter so much to him. All he knew was that it didn't matter where their power came from. It didn't matter if it was natural, borrowed, or gifted. All that mattered was how the person used it. Izuku never had powers of his own, and people had entrusted him with theirs. How he got them didn't matter, but he was going to use them to their fullest and prove himself worthy of them. "Take that power and MAKE IT YOURS!"
Todoroki stood stock still for maybe a second or two, and then Izuku saw the air start to distort around him. There was a look of something resembling shock in the other boy's eyes as flames began to lick at his left side and Izuku felt just a small twinge of fear. Then Todoroki's face shifted into one of both confusion and resolve, and it left him looking somewhat unhinged. The wavering of the flames was soon joined by the shimmering of frost and Izuku shook off a wince as he raised his shields in front of him.
In hindsight, the attack that Todoroki launched at that moment should have put Izuku against the wall of the arena. The force behind it was devastating, and when he would later watch the replay his heart would skip a beat at the size of the hole in the maze surrounding where Todoroki had been standing. All he really remembered was being suddenly surrounded by darkness, and the sound of an explosions louder than anything he'd ever heard Bakugo produce.
A/N: Running a little behind today, but the second half of the second event is here! Writing interplay between Aizawa and Mic is pretty fun even when it's one sided. Ochaco is shaping up to be one of my favorite characters to write, and I suspect Tsuyu will end up being one as well. They are my top favorite female characters from the show after all.
Do you guys think I had the Izuku/Todoroki confrontation too early? I think I handled it well enough, but maybe I should have held off a bit. But I was chomping at the bit to use 'Porcupine Pulse' and there wasn't any better way to use it that I could think of, what did you guys think of that?
Lots of work to get on with, so I'll just leave you guys for now. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
~AQ