Chapter 8
Thanks to Windwolf777, PasiveNox, Tower Knight, and Colordem for reviewing, and to Tadkins, Fencer29, and Halfazn for suggestions. You were right. I got caught again trying to get a chapter out too fast and had to go back for mistakes. It reminds me of advice my cousin's art teacher gave him. If you create something and it looks good, turn it upside down and all the flaws will become apparent. It's the same with a chapter, on my Word doc it looks fine, reading it after it's posted reveals all my mistakes and I'm sure I still missed a few. I even proofread it 3 times and I still saw more of 'em after it was posted. So, I'll try to do better.
Anyway, I love the suggestions, keep 'em coming.
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Izuku watched as Bakugo left, his glare turning to a smirk. The blond bomber never was one to leave questions unanswered. He didn't get the answers he wanted and now he had a chance to ask Ochaco directly. "Interrogate her", more like. She and Izuku had talked about him and her insecurity of being in a physical brawl. He did his best to train her and also give her tips on Bakugo's fighting tactics, now he could only hope she remembered everything. He couldn't yell out to her to remind her, so as to not show the favoritism he obviously felt. He could only put on his most confident smile, nod and return the thumbs up that she had given him.
"You are worried about your most precious friend?"
Izuku looked over to see the boy wearing a medieval style armor standing uncomfortably close to him, staring at him right in the eyes. He jumped back with a yelp.
"You are truly that worried about her failing, no?" the boy continued.
"It's not that. I know she's very capable, but, yeah. I just can't help but be… a little worried, you know?" Izuku said, knowing he wasn't very convincing.
"…Because you love her?" the armored bishonen asked with a wink.
He was surprised when Izuku seemed to lose all nervousness and looked directly at him with a wistful smile, "Yeah. I do." He ended with a full grin.
"Ohmigod-omigod-omiGOD! I can't believe you just said that out loud!" Izuku was blindsided again by a very pink and energetic girl. "How long have you two been dating? Who started it? Did you kiss her yet? I mean, of course you have, right?"
"I don't think he wants to answer such personal questions." The frog girl croaked as she walked up.
"Even though everyone kinda wants to know, right?" a punk-rock girl with earlobes like microphone jacks asked the tall girl who could make even the revealing leotard she wore appear stylish.
"I… wouldn't know," the girl replied, though she was obviously trying to hide her own curiosity.
"Midoriya," All Mights baritone voice broke in, carrying over the crowd. "You can talk about your personal life after class. For now, try to stay on task," giving the boy a thumbs up.
"O-of course, All Might." Izuku replied with gratitude obvious in his voice. All Might's teeth sparkled in response. "To start off, what are your names and your quirks?" He asked the group before they could disperse. He did his best to write down everything, turning a page for each name he received. He didn't get very far before All Might announced the start of the match.
All eyes were on the monitors as they watched the girls infiltrate the building and make their way to the next floor when Izuku heard the question, "Hey, Midoriya. Who do you think is going to win this match?" A shirtless teen with spiky red hair, named Eijiro Kirishima, asked.
They had watched Bakugo had already left his partner behind as he stalked the corridors looking for his opponents. "They are using stealth tactics, that means Uraraka realized Bakugo would be hunting for them. If they can get past Bakugo unseen, keeping his partner busy should be easy for the invisible person get to the bomb. I don't know if they have any combat skills, which would be awesome while being invisible, but that's the easiest win. If they do meet up with Bakugo, one-on-one, indoors, I think Uraraka has the advantage."
"No way," said a boy wearing a leather jacket with a lightning bolt painted in his hair, "Bakugo is way stronger and more destructive."
"If they were out in the open, sure." Izuku replied, "If he had room to maneuver, he could potentially beat her in aerial combat. But being inside limits him. If she can get her hands on him…"
An explosion on screen brought out a collective, "Ooh" "Ambushed!", from the group. They watched as Uraraka stepped in to Bakugo's explosive punch, crushed him against the ceiling, slam him to the floor, throw him down the hall, and made him "fall" back down the hall where he exploded through a wall.
Most of the boys were stunned, "What the hell?" "Whoa!" "I don't believe it."
"She's got some skills," croaked the frog-girl, now named Tsuyu Asui.
"Unfortunately, I think the only thing she managed to do was piss him off," the thin guy with mechanical elbows by the name of Hanta Sero said.
Kirishima asked, "Isn't there any sound with this? Bakugo's talking to someone, but I can't hear anything."
"Sorry," answered All Might, "video only. He's talking through an earpiece radio I gave them before the match." He pointed to his own earpiece, meaning he could listen in on their conversations, but the other students couldn't. "I also proved them with a map of the building and a roll of capture tape like this one. Wrapping this around your opponent means you've captured them and they're out for the rest of the game."
"So, there's a 15-minute time limit and the good guys don't know which floor the nuclear weapon is hidden on. Right?" Ashido asked.
"Correct." All Might confirmed.
"Then the heroes are at real disadvantage here. A big one."
"Real pros have to constantly out-wit villains. That's life. Even when the odds are against you, heroes fight on. Let's hear a 'Plus Ultra'."
"Plus Ultra!" echoed the entire class and Midoriya.
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"I will Fucking MURDER YOU!"
Half scared by her own success, half by the cruel voice of her opponent, Ochaco steepled her fingers to release her quirk and ran down the hall. Memories of Izuku's advice hammered through her skull as she went, "Don't try to compete with Bakugo in the air. He's smarter than he looks and doesn't mind hurting himself as long as he wins. He's already skilled at using his explosions to rocket himself through the air, shooting an explosion in two directions to stabilize himself as he targets you would be obvious. He's quick to adapt, so don't count on using the same trick twice." It irked her to hear her boyfriend sing the praises of the person who bullied him for years.
Ochaco knew she could just try to hide from Bakugo until Hagakure found the bomb, but if she didn't find it, they might run out of time. She was mostly sure the invisible girl ran away from the initial blast, that was their plan, after all. Whether she was unconscious in the hall or in radio-silenced stealth mode, Ochaco wouldn't know anything until her partner actually found the bomb and radioed in. If she didn't hear anything, she was on her own. In order to guarantee a win, she needed to get past Bakugo. She needed a plan.
Explosions from down the hall told her Bakugo was already closing in on her, using his quirk to change direction around corners without slowing down. If she remembered the floor layout correctly, a dead-end hallway was just ahead. If she could lure him there and avoid his explosions long enough, there should be enough collateral damage for her to use as a weapon. She found it and touched both walls, spreading her quirk to the ceiling as well, as she made her way to the end.
She turned to find Bakugo at the end of the hall, staring at her with a crazed look in his eye. "You've been a thorn in my side for too long. You think you're better than me?"
"No. I pity you."
He growled, "You're just like him, always looking down on people…"
"Pretty easy to do when you act like low-life scum, because that's what you are. A bully. The lowest form of villain to crawl out of the dirt."
Bakugo stood up straight and raised his gauntleted hand towards her, calmly. This wasn't going as planned. He should have lost his temper by now and come after her with wild, explosive punches. Him just standing there, his face twisting into malicious grin, and not taking the bait was not a good sign.
"My explosions are sparked by the sweat in my palms, which is like secreting nitro glycerin, then detonating it. If the specs are what I asked for, I can store that nitro-sweat in these bracers and…" He pulled back the handle revealing a release pin. Ochaco realized the grenade on his forearms were not just for show, she was in real danger right now.
All Might's voice came over their ear-pieces, "Young Bakugo, don't do this. You'll kill her."
"It won't kill her if she dodges!" He pulled the pin.
Ochaco grabs her cape and pulls it around her as she ducks behind it.
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The whole room cries out in dismay as the hallway erupts in flames, smoke, and flying debris.
"This is going too far." "What the hell is he thinking?" "Oh, my, God." "Is she dead? I think she's dead." "That was a dead-end hallway. Where did he think she was she supposed to dodge?"
All Might is turning to leave but stops when he hears his student aid calmly say, "She's fine."
"The fuck you say!" the goth rocker named Kyoka Jiro accused, "I thought you cared for her!"
"Seriously, she's ok. Look," was all he said. They turned back to see Ochaco stand up as though nothing had happened, unmoved by the massive explosion.
"…But… How?" the girl in the skimpy leotard, named Momo Yaoyorozu, asked.
"Her quirk doesn't just cancel out gravity, but all physical forces that are acting on an object. Her quirk is always active and as long as she is touching an object, it acts like an active field around that object," he explained.
"…making anything that touches it lose all of its kinetic energy potential," Yaoyorozu picked up. "She infused her quirk into her cape thereby negating the force of the explosion the moment it touched her cape, shielding her."
"That doesn't mean her cape's not on fire, though," the observant frog girl, Tsuyu Osui, said.
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Ochaco stood up, relieved that her quirk stood up against an explosion so strong and reveled in the shocked look on Bakugo's face. Then she looked down at her smoldering cape. "Ack!" she yelped as she jumped to unhooked the clasps.
Watching her go from confident to panicked was enough to break Bakugo from his shock. "NO!" he exclaimed and blasted himself forward. Wrestling with her cape, Ochaco wasn't ready and hastily tried to dodge the incoming explosion. The blast caught the side of her helmet and her shoulder and slammed her back against the remains of the wall and into the room beyond. The remains of her helmet fell off her and her bodysuit's shoulder was blasted away, the ballistic material saving her from the worst of it, but exposed her shoulder and bra strap.
She stumbled but kept her footing as Bakugo charged in. Swinging her cape like bull fighter, she threw it over Bakugo's head, making him weightless by extending her quirk. His one hand tried to tear away the cape, the other pointed in her general direction. She saw the incoming explosion, realizing he didn't have to be accurate to be effective. She touched her bodysuit, infusing it as she had the cape. The blast caught her fully in the torso, but she didn't move, nor was her suit damaged except for her utility belt, which didn't survive. She released her grip on the cape and slapped the explosive boy on his shoulder.
"Gravity Point!" she yelled and dove to the floor. Suddenly every bit of debris that was once the full length of the hallway and part of the outside wall answered the call of gravity and "fell" into its new center, Bakugo. Where an angry young hero once stood was now a large, floating ball of rubble with a boy at its center.
"What the hell?! Let me out of here!" He detonated an explosion to try and clear the debris, but it only fell back onto him again in smaller chunks. Ochaco ran back out to the hall as he tried this several more times, otherwise, he was unable to escape, the sphere of debris, propelled by the explosions, bounced around inside the exposed rooms.
She rounded the corner and stopped to catch her breath. That should hold him for now. Maintaining the Gravity Point would aggravate her nausea, but she decided to just deal with it until the exercise ended. Better that than letting him get loose again.
"I can't believe that worked," she said to herself. She hissed as she checked the damage to her shoulder and the back of her hand, both were scratched and bleeding and her ears were still ringing. Not too terrible, overall. But, what about Hagakure? She hated the idea that she might have left her partner in the middle of hallway unconscious. She activated her earpiece, "Toru? Toru, are you ok? Where are you?"
"I'm fine. I've just been standing here next to the bomb, waiting for you, for a while now," her partner responded cheerfully.
"What?" The invisible girl heard both her partner and Ojiro yell at the same time as the boy spun around the face the fake nuclear device, the apparent source of the voice.
"Yeah. See?" The bomb appeared to topple over on its own. "What was that giant explosion, anyway? Are you ok?"
"Uh, HERO TEAM WINS!" All Might announced after a moment and cheering erupted in the background.
"But I didn't get to do anything." Ojiro moped.
Ochaco lets out a rueful laugh as her shoulder started to ache, "I'm fine, Toru. I'll see you inside." She stopped for a moment, reflecting her own bad pun. Heck with it, she knew what she meant. She turned to walk back to Bakugo.
She contemplated the ball of debris as it shouted obscenities and bounced off the walls, threatening to drift outside. She reached out and grabbed a boot and hauled it back to safer ground.
"Don't you fucking touch me, you stupid bitch." It shouted.
"Just hold still a sec. We don't want you to accidently get impaled on something sharp, do we?"
With his boot firmly in her grip Ochaco releases her Gravity Point and pulls Bakugo out of the floating rubble which started to drift apart on it's own. Seeing the pity in her eyes, "Don't you dare look down on me, fucking cunt."
Her expression didn't change as she let him float there for a moment. In a calm voice, she said, "He still believes in you, you know." At his puzzled expression, she continued, "Izuku. He still believes you can become a great hero someday like you always said you would. But I don't see it. With the way you've been acting, you're the one who shouldn't be here." He growled but she continued before he could say anything, "Don't worry, I'm not going to say anything, but only because Izuku asked me not to. If anything, you should be thanking him for having a forgiving heart like that. He's a good guy." She released her quirk, allowing him to stand on his own. "Whatever it is that makes him believe in you, I wish you'd show the rest of us and least try to live up to it." She turned to walked away.
Behind her, she heard, in a soft tone, "Fuck."
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"Hmm," All Might nodded to himself as their conversation ended. If it was true Bakugo had been the one to bully Midoriya for who knows how long before he met the boy, and for Midoriya to still forgive his oppressor… This only grew All Might's respect for his young assistant.
"Ok, spill, Midoriya." Ashido marched up to him, "How the hell do you know so much about her quirk? This goes way beyond just simply being her boyfriend." She was backing poor Midoriya up to the wall as she spoke.
"Wait! He's dating Uraraka?" The guy in the leather jacket named Denki Kaminari wailed.
"I, uh…" Midoriya faltered.
"He trained her." All Might stepped in. "Midoriya isn't one to blow his own horn, but he honed Young Uraraka's skills for the better part of a year. Under his care, she earned the highest score in this year's entrance exam and Aizawa's fitness test."
"Well, I mean, it's pretty easy to coach natural talent," Midoriya admitted, scratching the back of his head. He definitely didn't want anyone to know real reason behind Ochaco's boost in power.
"Nonsense, my boy." All Might lightly slapped him on his back, which nearly knocked him over. "Such skills should only be encouraged. If you gave him a chance, he could certainly help all of you the same way." Midoriya nearly choked on his own spit. He certainly hoped not. Having sex with the entire class sounded like a horrible idea.
The door opened as a pair of Gloves and shoes walked in with the tailed teen, named Mashiro Ojiro by his classmates. Uraraka walked in and was met by Yaoyorozu and a med kit from… somewhere. Bakugo followed behind covered in bruises, dust, and grime that crusted in his sweat, leaving him looking very dour indeed.
"Remember," All Might announced. "Every experience you have or observe can teach you something. Win or lose, there is always something you can take away, as long as you are open to learning. That being said, the MVP is Ochaco Uraraka! Anyone care to explain why?"
Most of the class raised their hands. "Because he totally kicked butt." "She had superior tactics." "She kept a level head in the face of a dangerous enemy." "Because Bakugo couldn't follow through and blow the rest of her costume off her." *smack* "What I want to know is how long Midoriya and Uraraka have been dating and how far they've…?"
"No. No. No, no. No!" All Might interrupted. "We have work to accomplish, so gossip on your own time. Next up is Team B as the heroes, and Team I as the villains."
The Gundam suit, Tenya Ida, stepped forward, "Since we have an odd number of students in this class, it appears that I am the odd man out, this time."
"Hmm, really." All Might thought about it, "Let's table that match until we decide what to do." He reached into the bins again, "The next match will be Hero Team H taking on Villain Team J"
The match was pretty straight forward. Fumikage Tokoymi and his shadow entity Dark Shadow went hand to hand against Eijiro Kirishima's hardening quirk, while the nimble Tsuyu Asui jumped through the tape traps set by Hanta Sero. All Might ruled touching the bomb with your tongue was good for a win and Tsuyu took MVP.
In the next match, Kyoka Jiro was quick to locate the opposing team with her ear-jacks and led her teammate Denki Kaminari to the location within minutes. When Denki couldn't electrocute his way through the baracade set up by Momo Yaoyorozu, Jiro bypassed the obstical with a hole in the wall. She was immediately trapped by the sticky balls of Minoru Mineta, ensuring victory for the Villain team.
Finally, Yuga Aoyama and Mina Ashido, despite their awkard start as Mina's acid burned holes in Yuga's fabulous cape, pulled a victory over strongman Rikido Sato and Koji Koda, who didn't put up much of a fight. Mina got the MVP as she skated circles around Sato till the acid weakened floor gave way benieth the oversized teen.
Through it all, Midoriya continued to gather information about the students, their quirks and their backgrounds, but taking notes about the matches was his main source of information. Interviews were mixed as most of the girls wanted to know more about his relationship with Ochaco. A few the guys were put off that he had a relationship, while Mineta and Kaminari was downright hostile and Bakugo only sullenly sat in a corner, not participating. Izuku really didn't need to interview him since he already had several years-worth of notes already, only jotting down notes about his performance. Luckily, none of them wanted to cross All Might.
"All right, well done everyone," All Might announced. "That leaves the last match with our uneven teams."
"Sir," Kaminari raised his hand, "Why not let Midoriya stand in as the fourth team member?"
"What the fuck?" Backugo shouted. "Don't bring that…" He stopped with a glance towards All Might, "…Why the hell would even suggest that?"
Meneta spoke up, "Because, he's here to judge our potential as a hero. Not to put too of a blunt a point on it, but it's hard to trust someone who doesn't have the point of view a hero to judge our skills or the work we do."
Ochaco jumped, "What? He does so. He knows hero work better than any of us. He dedicated his life to studying heroes." She gestured over to her boyfriend who was standing there slowly rubbing his chin with his thumb. She did a double take as she recognized he was in 'deep thought' mode and began to get even more worried.
"It's hard to be convinced just based on your say so. You clearly have a biased opinion on the matter." Mineta argued.
"What she said is true." All Might added, "It is part of the reason I accepted him for this job in the first place. That being said, we can take a volunteer to go a second time to fill…"
"I'll do it." Midoriya said.
"Young Midoriya, this is clearly outside the scope of your job description." All Might argued. "There is no reason to put yourself in harms way like this."
"I'm sorry, but I know that I'm not being taken seriously here and if this is what it takes to show that I'm serious about being here, then I'll do it."
"I'm still opposed to this." All Might crossed his arms, but really wasn't saying no. What Izuku was saying was true, if he didn't have the cooperation of the students, his job would be much harder.
Izuku smiled, "How about if I get a quirk and support gear?"
All Might quirked an eyebrow, unsure what his young assistant was thinking, but stepped aside and gestured for Izuku to continue. Everything Midoriya said was true. If he didn't have the full cooperation of the students, then even his own credibility as a teacher might be undermined. This was a trial by fire that needed to happen.
Indeed, it seemed every 1-A student looked at the boy as though he was crazy as he walked up Yaoyorozu, "Can I have a roll of duct tape, please?"
"One of the most versatile tools of any handyman," she smiled with approval as she produced the tape from her thigh and handed it over.
"Fucking, don't encourage him. Fuck!" Bakugo shouted though no one paid any attention to him.
He walked over to Ochaco, and held up his hand. Ochaco hesitated, "You could get hurt, you know." She reached for his hand.
"Useless." Todoroki said, making the couple flinch, "This match will be over within seconds, regardless of what you do. Let's get this over with." He turned and left, leaving his partner, Mezo Shoji, to follow after him.
Ochaco glared at Todoroki's back. He had unknowingly hit one of the descriptions she despised when it came to her boyfriend. She grabbed Izuku's hand and yanked him in close, mashing their lips together. "Show 'em what you got!" she enthusiastically encouraged as she turned him around and gave him a shove towards Iida. Somewhere in the room, it sounded like someone was gagging on their own tongue.
"Iida?" Izuku said, blushing, as he floated towards the armored hero in training, "You're going to have to drag me there. If you'll listen to me, I have a plan, but we have to hurry."
"If you're sure about this," Iida let Midoriya ride piggyback between the exhaust mufflers of his costume and rushed out of the room.
Even before they reached the building, Izuku started laying out his plan, "Listen, try not to be loud when the timer starts. Shoji can amplify his hearing with his quirk. We need surprise on our side."
"I have the ear-comms and a map from All Might," Iida supplied.
"Good. You saw what the general layout of the floors were from the previous matches. I need you to use your speed and start stacking all the debris you find in the corners. We are going to hide the bomb behind one of them, but we need it to appear like there are multiple hiding places. I'll hide the bomb, do your best with the rest."
"Got it."
They reached the building, passing the other team on the way in. Unfortunately, Iida slowed down too fast and got bowled over by Izuku's momentum. "Heh, we'll have to work on that," Izuku said, feeling lucky they were indoors as he rolled across the plaster ceiling. "We can talk over the comms while we work." Iida agreed.
"I know this is only training but it pains me to be aligned with criminal behavior." Iida said. Izuku could hear his rapid footsteps in the background.
"You know the old saying, 'it takes a thief to catch a thief'," Izuku said as he jumped off the walls and down the hallways as he located the bomb. "Getting one step ahead of the villains is the best way to stop them. I'm sure your brother would say the same."
"He would. Wait, how do you know about my family?" Iida asked.
"I guessed, actually. The engine quirk runs strong in the Iida family and your brother is pretty well known."
"Please, don't tell the others, yet. I don't really want the others to think of me differently because of my lineage."
"That makes you the only other hero family in the class."
"That's right. Todoroki was accepted on recommendation, the son of Endevor."
"I talked to him, actually." Midoriya said, but quickly changing the subject, "So. Do you think you can get into the villain mindset?"
"To act like a villain," he sighed, "this too is simply another trial become a better hero worthy of my family name. I shall embrace evil and truly become a villain!"
"OK, good. But we are not villains."
"What? But that's the assignment, of course we are the villains."
"We need to take it to the next level. We are not mere villains, we are 'fanatics'."
"Come again?"
"Think about it. As villains, what's our job here in this city with a nuclear bomb in our possession?"
"Well, we are to detonate the bomb and destroy the city, of course."
"With us at ground zero of a nuclear explosion. Who in their right mind would do that?"
"I'm not sure I like where this is going."
"Don't you get it? We are here to babysit a megaton bomb to ensure heroes don't tamper with it and to make sure it explodes at the end of the time limit. We are sacrificing ourselves for a cause even though we know it's certain death. In the name of our Evil Overlord, we shall cleanse our souls in righteous nuclear fire along with this corrupted and befouled city. All hail our Evil Overlord!"
"Have you gone mental?"
"What else do we gain from standing right here at ground zero? This is not a hostage situation. We are not mercenaries or simple henchmen, we are fanatics, ready to die for a cause."
"It's disturbing that you pick up on this so readily."
"Come on, say it with me, 'All Hail the Evil Overlord!'"
"…hail the evil overlord." Iida muttered. "You are having way too much fun with this. Remember this is a training exercise not a playground."
"… And I am a teaching assistant. The more real I make this, the better it is for my students. Just follow my lead and everything will be ok. All hail the Evil Overlord!"
"All hail the Evil Overlord." Iida said without enthusiasm, but he was getting there.
"Ok, we have a minute left, lets meet up on the fourth floor. One thing still bothers me, though. Todorki seemed to think he can win this challenge, no matter what we do."
"He did seem a tad overconfident. Not boastful, like Bakugo, just… certain."
"Talk about getting into someone's head. But, what could he do? Someone as strong as Endeavor, but with ice powers… to capture us within seconds, implying a single move… only a five-story building, Endeavor could reduce the entire building to ash with a single blast… but with ice… he could… turn the building into a glacier? That would endanger the bomb… unless he had more control…" He entered the room with Iida which was barren except for the stacks of barrels and crates in the corners. His eyes roamed over the room as he floated before and idea hit him. "Iida come here."
He pushed off Ida and went up to the ceiling light fixtures and punched through the plaster. Iida noticed the supply of duct tape as about half of what he started out with as Midoriya wrapped tape through the ceiling and left long hanging loops.
"When the timer starts, grab onto this and lift your feet off the floor." Izuku said as he started to wrap the palm of one of his hands with tape, the sticky side out. "And remember, talk softly and use the coms. Assume that Shoji can always hear us."
Just in time, "Begin! Heroes may enter the building," All Might announced.
"Quick." Izuku gestures to the tape loops. "settle in and get comfortable."
Iida grabs the loops of tape and picks his feet up. "Are you sure about this. I don't know how long I can hold this." He would normally have no problem, if this were a normal gym class, but he was wearing full armor it was sapping his stamina fast.
Fortunately, it didn't take long as frost started forming on the walls and floor before building up to a thick layer of ice. No surface was left untouched by the ice, including the fake hiding spot of crates in the corner, Midoriya noted. Iida looked in wonder at spectacle before turning to Midoria who held one finger in front of his lips as he floated between the floor and ceiling.
"Holy crap. They got us. Iida can you rev up your engines and melt the ice with your exhausts plugged like that?"
Iida looked confused as Midoriya gestured for him to answer. "N… no. I can't. My engines stall out if my exhaust ports are plugged."
"Then we're stuck." Izuku motioned for Iida to let himself down. He activated his coms as he whispered, "You have emergency cleats in your boots, right?"
"Of course." Iida reached down and flipped a switch on his boots releasing spikes on the soles of his boots, allowing him to get traction on the ice.
"Do what you think is best to get Todoroki. I'm going to try to prevent Shoji from interfering."
"Are you sure we should be splitting up like this?" Iida hissed back at him, "We're supposed to be a team."
"You work best when you have room to move. I would be only be in your way." Izuku pushed himself through the door, but not before looking back and activating his comm link one more time, "I believe in you, Iida."
Tenya Iida couldn't argue with his teammate's logic. He really was better in the open and the weightless, free-floating body of his partner could potentially get in the way. He continued to ponder what his partner was thinking when he heard a whisper in his ear, "Iida, come to the top of the steps"
"Can you tell me where he's at?" Iida asked.
Izuku could hear the cleated footsteps gaining purchase on the stairs and retreated. "He's coming up the steps. In twenty seconds, he will be in the long east side hall, third floor." Took a chance and stuck his head out the window but didn't see Shoji. He hated the idea of losing his grip and free falling to the sky. Steeling his nerve, he exited through the window and pushed himself to the ground, bouncing himself into the main entrance and, hopefully, behind Shoji.
He found his quarry looking at the ice coated stairs, bracing his arms against the walls. It looked like he was weighing the benefits of gripping the frosty railing with his multiple arms against the lack of traction his normal shoes provided. Apparently, Todoroki hadn't taken any chances and simply coated every surface inside the building in a thick layer of ice in his attempt to capture them.
Trying not to make a sound, Izuku pushed himself lightly towards his foe, who noticed the shadows shifting only a moment too late. Midoriya yelled as he pulled the tape and wrapped it around Shoji's head as he began to turn, immediately blinding him. The shorter teen was able to wrap his legs around his victim's torso as he continued to wind the tape over and over around his head. Reflexively, Shoji put up two hands to protect his face only to have them bound to his head. Between the yelling, the assault, and the blindness, panic set in as Midoriya wrapped a third appendage as Shoji tried to simply ward him off. He threw himself backwards, lost his footing and landed on top of Midoriya who only gave a grunt of pain but it broke his leg lock.
In the time it took Shoji to make one appendage an eye, Izuku grabbed it and wrapped tape around its base, not having the heart to put duct tape on a sensitive eyeball. Shoji swung a free elbow back into the boy's side, knocking him into the air. Midoriya was still holding on to the tape and didn't fly far, but it brought the boy into Shoji's line of sight. With only two arms free he reached over and grabbed Midoriya by his shirt and swung the weightless boy against the wall, twice, three times. He felt something give a sickening pop under his fist and let go, fearing he really hurt the boy. That was a mistake Midoriya capitalized on. He grabbed the roll of tape, with an animalistic growl, managed to catch his last two arms and wrapped them together like handcuffs before running out of tape and pushing himself away.
Shoji formed another eye and one mouth that started breathing for him, since his face was covered and had trouble taking in air. He saw Midoriya clutching his ribs as he bounced off the wall. He was smiling though the pain as sweat beaded on his forehead despite the cold.
"Heh. Oh, yeah, before I leave, villain monologue time. Ahem. You have failed, non-believer. Our cause is righteous. There is only one hope left for you. Time will inevitably run out, and soon, every soul in this city will become purified in the nuclear fires that once forged this universe and all shall be made anew." He lifted his hands above his head. "All Hail the Evil Overlord!" he finished with a grunt as he cradled his ribs again. "Ok, that's it. See ya, Shoji." Midoriya pushed himself along the hallway and up the stairs out of sight.
"I'll get you for this, Midoriya!" he heard the mouth-tentacle say.
Meanwhile, when Todoroki heard Midoriya's battle cry, he turned back only to be alarmed as the fast steps of Iida came at him in a rush. He tried to put a barrier up but the speedster's shin guard slammed into the ice-armored half of his body, shattering it, causing it to fall off completely. Before he could get his bearings, Iida had already rounded the corner out of sight.
The bi-colored teen had only just gotten to his feet before Iida came back around the corner again at high speed. This time he was able to put a barrier up only to have it completely broken by a spin kick. The follow up kick smashed him painfully into the frozen wall. Iida was gone and out of sight once again.
Once more Iida appeared and Todoroki filled the hallway with icy spikes to try and slow the armored teen down. It only worked only as much slowed the speedster down enough that he could dodge a double spin kick as he went past. He touched the ground to send ice spike after his opponent's retreating form, but wasn't fast enough.
Iida rounded the corner and saw Midoriya float up the steps towards him. "I don't think I can get him. He's filling the corridor with ice spikes. I can't get close enough to him."
"Ice barriers too?" Izuku asked, Iida nodded in reply. Izuku smiled, "Do you think you can close enough one more time?"
"Maybe. He might catch me as well. But what good would it do?"
"If you can get close to him, attack the floor with everything you got. Go quick, before he decides to move."
Iida took off one more time. Todoroki was waiting for him and sent out a wave of ice spikes. Iida jumped over the first few, took two steps along the wall and came down in front of the ice wielder right in his line of fire, thrusting an engine-powered double stomp into the floor. Ice continued to flow over him, holding him in place as the floor collapsed, taking Todoroki with it and out of his line of sight.
Midoriya drifted close to him. "You ok?" he asked in genuine concern.
"My armor protected me from the worst of it." Iida said, "Still pretty cold though." He looked down to see his feet dangling over the collapsed floor, only being held in place by a grip of ice up to his hips.
"I'll go and put the capture tape on him and we'll be done." Izuku pulled the small roll tape from his pocket and pulled himself into the hole. He found Todoroki lying still on top of blocks of ice and debris. Too late, he realized he should have been more cautious as he was committed to his trajectory, out of reach from any of the walls. He swung his legs down to land feet first as he reached out to put tape on Todoroki's wrist.
Todoroki reached out to grabbed him first. With a scream, Izuku jumped backwards, smacking his head on the ice that covered Iida's boot. His forearm was covered in ice that dragged him back down to the floor, he jumped and punched simultaneously, throwing his weighted arm ahead of him to get more distance. Todoroki's ice was faster and Izuku saw he would land in the flow. He reached down and pulled his shoe lace and as the flowing ice caught the shoe, Izuku jumped, leaving the shoe behind to be buried in ice. He grabbed the wall with his sticky tape-hand and flung himself around the corner, out of sight of the ice wielder.
"Whaag, no!" Todoroki heard Izuku shout not a moment after rounded the corner. He ran over and turned the corner to see Mezzo Shoji crouched on the floor, the remains of a duct tape cocoon still wrapped his head and covering his body. Under his webbed arms covering, what he guessed was, Izuku Midoriya. He wasn't struggling.
"Hey, Shoji." Izuku said, sounding like a greeting.
"Hey, Midoriya." Shoji responded.
"So, um, how did you get out of all that tape so fast, anyway?"
"I'm stronger than you think I am. And besides, the glue on that tape tastes terrible." A mouth-tentacle said.
"Oh. Um… So, you aren't still looking for revenge for the whole tape thing, Are ya?"
Shoji thought about it a moment, "If you surrender, I'll consider it."
"Ok." Izuku said with another pained grunt. "You got me."
"You should have used the capture tape." Shoji said, pulling out his own roll and binding Midoria's arms.
"That wouldn't have been nearly as effective …or as funny. Ow."
"Sorry," Shoji said, as he taped Midoriya's elbows to his torso, though neither teen was sure he meant it.
Todoroki finally spoke up, "Come on. Let's get some capture tape on Iida and put an end to this farce." He still sounded annoyed.
They found Iida, still hanging halfway over the edge of a hole, ice encased his legs and lower half of his torso. Iida saw the tall, six-armed teen come in behind Todoroki, guiding himself along the wall and taking careful steps across the ice-covered floor, with Midoriya floating in his custody. "Ah, M-M-Midoriya. Well, t-two against one; it-t's to be expected," he said, the cold was apparently starting to get to him.
This was not how Todoroki expected the match was to go. He had been outsmarted and outmaneuvered, not by another student hero, but a teacher's assistant. To say he was feeling annoyed and humiliated was an understatement. He took out the capture tape from his belt, "Do you surrender?"
"I do." Iida said, extending his wrists held together to be taped up. He was grateful that he would finally be released from this block of ice and so he could hopefully feel warmth again.
"I am so sorry about this, Iida," Midoriya said.
"D-do not trouble yous-self. W-we put up a valiant effort." Iida stuttered out.
"That's not what I'm talking about."
Todoroki wrapped tape around Iida's wrist and waited for All Might's announcement that the exercise was done.
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All Might took a deep breath and had the microphone up to his face, hesitated, then set it back down without saying anything. The students in the room were shocked.
"But they won. All Might, they captured the bad guys. That means they won, right?" Mineta asked.
"Mmm, good question," he said, theatrically. "Why wouldn't I stop the exercise? Can anyone guess?"
The entire class stood a moment in puzzled silence before Uraraka suddenly gasped as she finally got into her boyfriend's mindset. "Oh, crap. The bomb's not there. The heroes don't know where it's at," she blurted out.
"Of course," Yaoyorozu was quick to pick up. "In all the other matches, we all fought in the same room as the bomb, or we at least knew where it was. In defeating the villains, we automatically assumed we'd take control of the bomb. Midoriya practically stated the bomb was on a timer and by hiding it, the bomb remains an active threat."
"BINGO!" All Might yelled. "Midoriya took this to the next level and I would hate to let his efforts go to waste. As the old saying goes, 'They may have won the battle, but they have yet to win the war.' After such a hard-fought victory, it can sometimes be easy to overlook the important details. Let's see how our heroes handle the situation."
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Iida was the first to voice his concern, "I d-don't understand. Why h-hasn't All Might c-called the match?"
"He should have," Shoji agreed. "We have them in custody." To be sure, he sprouted a few more eyes and ears that quickly located several camera drones that hadn't been caught in the ice and were still recording them.
Midoriya was grinning. He was glad All Might got the message from his little villain monolog and went with it. Unfortunately, Todoroki noticed him smiling.
"You. What have you done?"
Midoriya chuckled softly, then giggled before he threw his head back in full maniacal laughter. "Why I did exactly what I'm supposed to do, hero," he stated with menace. Even Iida was looking at him as though he lost his mind. "But, you caught us. Good for you. Take us in, little hero, we are ready to confess."
"Yes, s-somewhere warm, please." Iida stuttered.
"Why are you acting that way?" Todoroki said without humor.
"He knows the exercise isn't over," Shoji explained. "Something's changed." He started looking around himself at the hallway they were in, "Something about this exercise is different."
"Nothing's different, handy-man. Haul us to jail and lock us away. Let's go, we are wasting time here. We confess, we did it." Izuku said with a laugh.
"No you didn't, you said…" Shoji held Midoriya out at arm's length, "Oh, crap. You are trying to wasting our time. Where's the bomb?"
"Bomb? What bomb are you talking about?" Midoriya said with a shit-eating grin.
"The test is still going." Todoroki stated. "The bomb must be on a timer. That's why we haven't stopped yet."
"That's what he said, 'time would inevitably run out'." Shoji agreed.
Todoroki rounded on the teen still hanging from his's partner's grip, only the ice on his arm dragged him toward the floor. "Where is the bomb?"
"Bomb? What b…?" Midoriya started only to be yanked from his captor's grip by the bi-colored teen.
"Don't play games!" Todoroki shouted in his face. "Tell me where the bomb is."
Midoriya's grin never faltered, he just looked at his menacing opponent, "Tick, tock. Tick, tock says the clock, its hands always tell people what it knows but it never says a thing. The only sound they ever hear is tick, tick, boom!" He threw back is head a laughed maniacly again.
Shoji moved over to his frozen opponent, "Iida. Where's the bomb?" Iida's helmet looked between his opponent and his partner in indecision. "Tell us and we can get you someplace warm."
"Keep the faith, bother!" Midorya shouted. "For the glory of our Evil Overlord!" Todoroki's eyes only grew more confused.
"For o-our evil overlord?" Iida said with an attempt at maniacal laughter that didn't quite fit with his chattering teeth.
"Tell us or you will have to sit there and freeze a while longer."
"I-I don't know where it is. M-midoriya was the one to h-hide it." Iida admitted miserably.
"Oh, I suppose I could show a little pity for you, brother." Midoriya said, a little disappointed. "The bomb is hidden in a corner under some camouflage." He glanced at one of the doors in the hallway.
Shoji looked at the ice-encrusted door and Midoriya could swear that one tentacle-eye glared balefully at Todoroki. He pulled a triple-fist back and smashed the door, only breaking a small hole in it as he slipped on the icy floor. Gripping the door frame for support, Shoji used the other four hands to widen the hole so he could fit through. "There's two stacks. Which corner is it?"
"The one covered in ice." Midoriya yelled back.
"They're both covered in ice!" Shoji shouted in frustration.
"Well, that certainly narrows it down." Midoria drawled. "You should check them both to be safe. Or better yet, check all of them. Ah-hahahaaa."
"You are stalling for time," Todoroki growled. "Tell us where it is."
"Or what? You can't stop us. We are much larger than you. Sacrificing the two of us for the greater glory of our Evil Overlord…"
"Shut up."
Midoriya let his face become serious as he looked Todoroki in the eye and hissed in a whisper, "Fifteen thousand people are counting on you. You could find the bomb in no time if you just melt the ice. Is your hatred for your father really that precious to you?"
Todoroki ground his teeth. "He sent you, didn't he?" he accused, also whispering.
"You really think so? I never met the man, plus I'm working for his greatest rival. So, no. I'm just here to win."
The bi-colored teen snarled, "I will become the number one hero without my father's quirk."
"I hope that works out for you because in less than three minutes you and everyone counting on you will be dead. Mwua-ha, ha. Ha." Midorya laughed in a dead-pan manner, challengingly.
Todoroki balled his fist and really looked like he was about to punch Midoriya in the face, but he turned away, "Shoji. Come on. We have to find that bomb." They turned and went up the stairs. Shoji followed, occasionally losing his footing on the melting ice along the way.
"Midoriya." Iida called. "Midoriya, please. Help me get this helmet off. Please, for the love of all that is holy, get this, geh… gah… achoo!" Shivering, he could only groan in misery.
"I am so sorry, Iida." Midoriya said as he limped over to his partner, his ice-covered hand was the only thing holding him to the floor, his arms still taped to his side. It took a few moments, but he was able to help remove the helmet with his one hand.
"W-what did you say to him? T-Todoroki looked ready to get v-violent."
"It was something that he mentioned when I interviewed him, but, well… it's personal, so... Sorry… again."
It was really less than two minutes later before All Might announced, "Time has run out. Villain Team Wiiiins!"
When the hero team came back to release their captives, Todoroki barely gave Midoriya a glance, obviously still very angry with the teacher's aide. Shoji took the capture tape off his captive as Todoroki melted the ice from Iida, "You can use heat too?" Iida asked in surprise, though he didn't receive an answer. As soon as Midoriya was free, Shoji assisted, holding on to Ida to prevent him from falling down the hole.
Midoriya held Todoroki back as the other two headed to the control room, "Can we talk a second?"
"Oh, right, your hand. Here, allow me." He was stiff and formal, but it was obvious his cold anger still burned within him.
"Well, that too, but I wanted to apologize for pushing you the way that I did. I…"
"You should have stayed out of it from the beginning. This doesn't concern you."
"'Meddling when you don't need to is the essence of being a hero.'" Todoroki looked up as he recognized the quote from All Might. "I won't pretend I know what's going on, but heroes today are also celebrities, meaning your life and background is open to the public. You have a strong quirk, but a smart villain would know how to get inside your head."
Todoroki looked away, ashamed.
"Look," Midoriya continued, "you don't have to say anything right now, but if you ever want to talk, I'll listen."
"You wouldn't know anything about it, what my father did to me, to us."
Izuku shoved the question of "who is 'us'?" back so he could continue, "I haven't seen my father since I was four. Still, I am lucky to have my mother, but you're right. I don't know everything. What I do know is that heroes stick together and help each other, and even the best of heroes need support."
Midoriya hissed as feeling returned to his arm as Todoroki melted the ice from his arm.
"I'll think about it," was all he said before turning and walking away. Izuku followed behind.
When they entered the control room, they were greeted by a round of applause. Though, Mineta and Kaminari looked a bit sour, still glaring at their teacher's assistant.
"This was definitely an out of the ordinary match-up." All Might said, trying to keep things diplomatic. He certainly didn't expect his TA to pull one over on a recommended student of all people. "All right. Who can tell me the lessons learned here?"
Ojiro raised his hand, "The strongest, flashiest move isn't always the best or most efficient."
"Never underestimate an intelligent criminal." Yaoyorozu said, "Your opponents will not always be cookie-cutter, generic bad guys."
"Ochaco's boyfriend is bad-ass!" Mina yelled.
"Stop rubbing it in!" Kaminari and Mineta wailed together.
All Might nodded, ignoring the last two comments, "Ok, then let's wrap this up. Good work, all of you. You really brought your A-game and we didn't have any major injuries. You should be proud! Excellent first day of training, all around."
"It's nice to hear some encouragement after our homeroom class." Tsuyu Asui said gratefully, "Mr. Aizawa's had us on edge since that one guy was sent home."
"No sweat. Young Midoria, I leave the rest to you. Now, let me show you how a pro exits. Like he's got somewhere to be!" He ran out of the training grounds at super speed, leaving the class in a swirl of dust and in awe of his power.
Midoriya looked at his watch, nodding. All Might's time limit was just about up. But, leave the rest of what to him? He looked up to see the class staring at him. "Um, ah. That's it, go ahead and get changed, and you're free to go home, I guess." He winced as his breath ran out and his cracked ribs reminded him not to breath too deeply. "Anyone in need of medical attention follow me to the nurse's office."
"A hot shower sounds good right now," a still-shivering Iida said to no one in particular. The rest of the class followed him out to the locker rooms.
"I'm going," Ochaco said, as she took her place at Izuku's side and gestured to her shoulder and hand. "I want to get these looked at." She was a little disappointed to find a tape-covered Shoji following behind them. When she took his arm, he winced and pulled away. "Hey, what was that? What happened?" she asked in concern.
"That was my fault," Shoji admitted, still talking through one of his arms as his face was still covered over with duct tape, "I think I might have cracked a rib or something when I hit him. He surprised me though. He must have a pretty high pain tolerance to turn around and defeated me. Now, I gotta see if the nurse has anything to get this tape out of my hair."
"Ooh, it would be a shame if she had to shave you bald." Ochaco teased. He did hurt her boyfriend, after all. At the very least, she didn't think his eyebrows would survive, but actually mentioning that might be going too far.
"Ugh, don't even suggest it," Shoji groused as one tentacle eye turned towards her boyfriend. "How were you able to move so well with no gravity like that, Midoriya? It was pretty amazing."
"I helped Ochaco train for nine months before the entrance exam." Izuku replied in shortened breaths. "I had to practice alongside her to help get the moves down using some old astronaut videos from the internet and improvising the rest. We called it 'zero-G parkour'."
Ochaco laughed, "It was a lot of experimenting but, it all paid off in the end."
By the time they got to the nurse's office, Izuku needed to rest as his breathing got shorter and more labored due to the long walk. He gratefully lay down on the bed, not sure what happened to the other two. He was reclining, trying to regulate his breathing and nearly half asleep as someone put a cold compress firmly over his eyes, "Shhh. Just relax," a female voice whispered, "and no peeking."
"Thanks, Ochaco," he said. The damp cloth really did feel nice. He heard her take a chair next to him as she took his hand. Softer than he remembered, her grip told him she was more to his front than beside him. He heard the rustling of cloth as she seemed to settle in. He could hear her breathing, the grip on his hand became a little firmer. She seemed a bit restless, her grip shifting now and again.
A new sound, entered his ear; a wet squishy sound, more viscous than water. A sound he knew from only one place, though he didn't want to believe it. He knew she enjoyed teasing him, but she wouldn't go so far as to do "that" in the nurse's office? It just wasn't like her. …Ok, "mostly" not like her.
The grip on his hand tightened as she gasped, and held her breath. A surge of warmth entered his body, his sore ribs eased and relaxed as he could breathe normally again and the painful bruises on his back disappeared. He shook the compress off his eyes caught the frightened stare of a beautiful girl about his age. A foreigner with olive skin and vibrant blue eyes, her hair done up in twin pig-tails. As she held his hand tight, her other hand is buried deep in her crotch with her panties around her ankles.
"Who…?" he asks, but it was enough to break the spell.
She quickly lets him go and pulls her underwear up, grabs a pair of glasses that were on his bed and puts them on as she hastily makes her exit through the privacy curtain that surrounded his bed. That was when he recognizes her as the shy girl that sits behind him in class, Amanda Avido.
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Wow, that was a long one. Dividing up the battles made them see too short and might have made them predictable. Ah, well, it is what it is.
In the meantime, I still need more ideas for the USJ arc. My ideas seem a little lame, so if your muse sparks you, send me a PM so mine can get a kick in the pants. Thanks in advance.
Um, yeah. Capes. Don't think I didn't think about it. Not entirely sure I'll keep it, though.
I think we need some fluff and filler before the action starts up again.
(edited and re-uploaded for minor errors)
(second re-upload for more errors and edits)
Until next time…